Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

April 3, 2004Gaines County, Texas

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 3, 2004, 4:31 PM CST for Gaines County, Texas. It was in force for 59 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, 4:31 PM CST (22:31 UTC)
Expired: Apr 3, 2004, 5:30 PM CST
In force: 59 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), 115 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:32 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, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 114 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: 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 032244
TORMAF
TXC165-032330-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 530 PM CST

* AT 427 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 8 MILES WEST 
  OF PAYNES CORNER...OR ABOUT 15 MILES WEST OF SEMINOLE...MOVING 
  NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  PAYNES CORNER...HIGHWAY 180 WEST OF SEMINOLE

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

LARGE HAIL THE SIZE OF GOLFBALLS AND DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 
MPH ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

EVACUATE MOBILE HOMES AND SEEK SAFETY IN A STURDY REINFORCED BUILDING
OR AN UNDERGROUND SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN
THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR
HANDS.

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED WITHIN THE STORM. A TORNADO
MAY ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND OR MAY DEVELOP AT ANY TIME. IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE TO THE LOWEST LEVEL OF A
STURDY BUILDING OR INTO AN UNDERGROUND SHELTER. STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

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 10305 3259 10304 3268 10256 3293 10298

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 3, 3:33 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Gaines	57 min
Apr 3, 3:45 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Reeves	45 min
Apr 3, 3:51 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Brewster	54 min
Apr 3, 3:51 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Gaines	39 min
Apr 3, 3:59 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Culberson, Jeff Davis	61 min
Apr 3, 4:03 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Presidio	57 min
Apr 3, 4:09 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Reeves	51 min
Apr 3, 4:26 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Andrews	49 min
Apr 3, 4:30 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Gaines	3 hr
Apr 3, 4:37 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Jeff Davis	38 min
Apr 3, 4:44 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Gaines	46 min
Apr 3, 5:02 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Reeves	58 min
Apr 3, 5:05 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Presidio	55 min
Apr 3, 5:16 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Culberson, Jeff Davis, Reeves	3 hr
Apr 3, 5:16 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Jeff Davis	29 min
Apr 3, 5:25 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Brewster	65 min
Apr 3, 5:31 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MAF	Gaines	59 min
Apr 3, 5:54 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Jeff Davis	51 min
Apr 3, 5:56 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Reeves	64 min

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.