Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

April 3, 2004Gaines County, Texas; Lea County, New Mexico

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 3, 2004, 3:51 PM CST for Gaines County, Texas; Lea County, New Mexico. It was in force for 39 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, 3:51 PM CST (21:51 UTC)
Expired
Apr 3, 2004, 4:30 PM CST
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Lea County, NM, Gaines County, TX

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:51 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 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 118 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 2004-04-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 11 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 2004-04-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 105 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
11 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-258 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
753 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
124 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KMAF 032151
TORMAF
NMC025-TXC165-032230-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL LEA COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF HOBBS
  WESTERN GAINES COUNTY IN WEST TEXAS

* UNTIL 430 PM CST(330 PM MST)

* AT 231 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR NADINE...OR
  ABOUT 9 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HOBBS...MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH.

A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANY TIME...TAKE COVER NOW ABANDON MOBILE HOMES
AND VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS.

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 3255 10320 3254 10299 3293 10284 3295 10316

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 3, 3:33 PM CSTTornado WarningMAFGaines57 min
Apr 3, 3:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFReeves45 min
Apr 3, 3:51 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster54 min
Apr 3, 3:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFCulberson, Jeff Davis61 min
Apr 3, 4:03 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFPresidio57 min
Apr 3, 4:09 PM CSTTornado WarningMAFReeves51 min
Apr 3, 4:26 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFAndrews49 min
Apr 3, 4:30 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningMAFGaines3 hr
Apr 3, 4:31 PM CSTTornado WarningMAFGaines59 min
Apr 3, 4:37 PM CSTTornado WarningMAFJeff Davis38 min
Apr 3, 4:44 PM CSTTornado WarningMAFGaines46 min
Apr 3, 5:02 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFReeves58 min
Apr 3, 5:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFPresidio55 min
Apr 3, 5:16 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningMAFCulberson, Jeff Davis, Reeves3 hr
Apr 3, 5:16 PM CSTTornado WarningMAFJeff Davis29 min
Apr 3, 5:25 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster65 min
Apr 3, 5:31 PM CSTTornado WarningMAFGaines59 min
Apr 3, 5:54 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFJeff Davis51 min
Apr 3, 5:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFReeves64 min
Apr 2, 10:37 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFEddy53 min
Apr 2, 11:15 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningMAFEddy3 hr
Apr 2, 11:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFEddy60 min
Apr 3, 3:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFLea61 min
Apr 3, 4:38 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFLea52 min
Apr 3, 5:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFLea61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2004Tornado Warnings in New Mexico, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes 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.