Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

April 3, 2004Gaines County, Texas

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 3, 2004, 8:30 PM CST for Gaines County, Texas. It was in force for 60 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Apr 3, 2004, 8:30 PM CST (02:30 UTC)
Expired: Apr 3, 2004, 9:30 PM CST
In force: 60 min
Issued by: NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Gaines County, TX

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 106 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:34 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 105 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 444 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1270 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 70 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 237 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 2.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

369 
WFUS54 KMAF 040230
TORMAF
TXC165-040330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
830 PM CST SAT APR 3 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  GAINES COUNTY IN WEST TEXAS
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF SEMINOLE

* UNTIL 930 PM CST

* AT 824 PM CST...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED TWO FUNNEL CLOUDS 5
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF SEMINOLE. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR
  DETECTED STRONG ROTATION IN THIS SAME AREA. THE STORM WAS MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH. 

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  SEMINOLE...AND HIGHWAY 385 SOUTH OF SEMINOLE

FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED. A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANY TIME...TAKE
COVER NOW ABANDON MOBILE HOMES ND VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. 
AVOID WINDOWS.

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE
HAIL. SEEK SAFE SHELTER NOW

THE SAFEST PLACES TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT OR AN
UNDERGROUND SHELTER. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY
FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STRONG BUILDING. MOVE INTO AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR CLOSET
AWAY FROM WINDOWS. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND MOVE TO A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN MIDLAND AT 1 800 5 9 7 3 2 2 0.

LAT...LON 3280 10306 3252 10304 3254 10257 3289 10255

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 3, 6:31 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Brewster	59 min
Apr 3, 6:32 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Gaines	58 min
Apr 3, 6:57 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Reeves	63 min
Apr 3, 7:14 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Reeves	46 min
Apr 3, 7:15 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Gaines	3 hr
Apr 3, 7:31 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Gaines	59 min
Apr 3, 8:01 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Reeves, Ward	59 min
Apr 3, 8:12 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Reeves	4 hr
Apr 3, 8:17 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Andrews	28 min
Apr 3, 9:23 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Culberson	52 min
Apr 3, 9:30 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Gaines	60 min
Apr 3, 9:41 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Brewster	49 min
Apr 3, 9:58 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Presidio	62 min
Apr 3, 10:15 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Andrews, Gaines	6 hr
Apr 3, 10:16 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Culberson	59 min
Apr 4, 12:11 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Brewster	64 min
Apr 4, 12:15 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Reeves	4 hr
Apr 4, 1:22 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Brewster	2 hr
Apr 4, 1:56 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Pecos	2 hr
Apr 4, 4:01 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Pecos	59 min
Apr 4, 4:56 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Andrews, Gaines	5 hr
Apr 4, 5:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Pecos	60 min
Apr 4, 6:01 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Pecos	29 min
Apr 4, 6:12 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Pecos	4 hr
Apr 4, 7:46 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Reeves	4 hr
Apr 4, 8:29 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Jeff Davis	46 min
Apr 4, 9:28 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Ward	4 hr
Apr 4, 10:33 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Pecos	6 hr
Apr 4, 11:00 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Andrews, Gaines	6 hr
Apr 4, 11:31 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Ector	4 hr
Apr 4, 11:44 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Reeves	5 hr
Apr 4, 1:07 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Winkler	4 hr
Apr 4, 1:26 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Midland	4 hr
Apr 4, 2:37 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Ward	3 hr
Apr 4, 3:38 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Ector	4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.