Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 450

June 12, 200425 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 12, 2004, 3:25 PM CDT for 25 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 12, 2004, 3:25 PM CDT (20:25 UTC)
Expired
Jun 12, 2004, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 25 counties

Brewster County, TX, Callahan County, TX, Coke County, TX, Concho County, TX, Crockett County, TX, Fisher County, TX, Glasscock County, TX, Howard County, TX, Irion County, TX, Jones County, TX, Mitchell County, TX, Nolan County, TX, Reagan County, TX, Runnels County, TX, Schleicher County, TX, Scurry County, TX, Shackelford County, TX, Stephens County, TX, Sterling County, TX, Sutton County, TX, Taylor County, TX, Terrell County, TX, Tom Green County, TX, Upton County, TX, Val Verde County, TX

The radar

The San Angelo radar (KSJT), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:24 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.

Warnings issued inside it

11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 12, 4:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster52 min
Jun 12, 5:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster58 min
Jun 12, 5:15 PM CDTTornado WarningMAFPecos, Terrell60 min
Jun 12, 5:19 PM CDTTornado WarningMAFBrewster56 min
Jun 12, 6:16 PM CDTTornado WarningMAFBrewster, Terrell59 min
Jun 12, 7:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFTerrell56 min
Jun 12, 7:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXVal Verde64 min
Jun 12, 8:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTFisher, Nolan58 min
Jun 12, 8:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTJones55 min
Jun 12, 8:41 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTJones49 min
Jun 12, 8:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTSutton63 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 123 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 2004-06-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1156 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 2004-06-12The 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
1156 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-259 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1627 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
152 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 122027
SEL0  
SPC WW 122025
TXZ000-130200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 450
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
325 PM CDT SAT JUN 12 2004

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       SOUTHWEST TEXAS

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 325 PM UNTIL
900 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF ABILENE TEXAS TO 30
MILES SOUTHEAST OF SANDERSON TEXAS.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 445...WW 446...WW 447...WW
448...WW 449...

DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP RAPIDLY ALONG DRY
LINE NEXT FEW HOURS AS MID LEVEL WIND MAX MOVES ACROSS AREA.  WITH
VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS...SUPERCELLS ARE LIKELY WITH VERY LARGE HAIL
AND ISOLATED TORNADOES PRIMARY THREAT.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25025.


...HALES

325,0983 294,1004 294,1031 325,1011

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 11, 8:17 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaylor, Coke, Cottle, Fisher, Foard, Glasscock and 15 more88 min
Jun 11, 10:50 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Baylor, Callahan, Coke, Coleman, Fisher and 15 more85 min
Jun 11, 10:54 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Baylor, Callahan, Coke, Coleman, Fisher and 15 more96 min
Jun 12, 1:12 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Baylor, Clay, Jack, Knox, Montague and 5 more2 hr
Jun 12, 2:40 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCArcher, Baylor, Childress, Clay, Cottle, Dickens and 12 more8 hr
Jun 12, 3:08 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBorden, Coke, Crane, Crockett, Fisher, Glasscock and 11 more2 hr
Jun 12, 5:37 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Baylor, Childress, Clay, Cottle, Dickens and 12 more83 min
Jun 12, 6:10 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrewster, Callahan, Coke, Coleman, Concho, Crockett and 20 more95 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2004Every tornado watch 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.