Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 879

November 22, 200423 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 22, 2004, 9:10 AM CST for 23 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Nov 22, 2004, 9:10 AM CST (15:10 UTC)
Expired
Nov 22, 2004, 2:00 PM CST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 23 counties

Austin County, TX, Bexar County, TX, Caldwell County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Colorado County, TX, DeWitt County, TX, Fayette County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Gonzales County, TX, Guadalupe County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Harris County, TX, Jackson County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Karnes County, TX, Lavaca County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Orange County, TX, Victoria County, TX, Waller County, TX, Wharton County, TX, Wilson County, TX

The radar

The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 138 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:11 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 22, 9:10 AM CSTTornado WarningHGXHarris35 min
Nov 22, 9:26 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXCaldwell, Guadalupe64 min
Nov 22, 9:41 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningEWXBastrop, Caldwell, Fayette, Gonzales3 hr
Nov 22, 9:46 AM CSTTornado WarningHGXHarris44 min
Nov 22, 9:54 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningEWXBexar, Comal, Kendall3 hr
Nov 22, 10:33 AM CSTTornado WarningHGXHarris27 min
Nov 22, 11:05 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningEWXBastrop, Caldwell, Fayette, Gonzales, Guadalupe6 hr
Nov 22, 11:18 AM CSTTornado WarningHGXChambers, Harris, Liberty27 min
Nov 22, 11:49 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Liberty41 min
Nov 22, 12:12 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXAustin, Colorado3 hr
Nov 22, 12:40 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningEWXBexar, Comal4 hr
Nov 22, 12:45 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXAustin30 min
Nov 22, 1:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXGonzales61 min
Nov 22, 1:24 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXFort Bend, Harris, Waller36 min
Nov 22, 1:30 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningEWXWilson4 hr

Discussions around it

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

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 221 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2004-11-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1000 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2004-11-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 72 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1000 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
687 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
72 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
107 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
2.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 221510
SEL9  
SPC WW 221510
TXZ000-CWZ000-222000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 879
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
910 AM CST MON NOV 22 2004

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

       SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 910 AM UNTIL 200
PM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 40 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTH OF SAN ANTONIO TEXAS TO 25 MILES
NORTHEAST OF PORT ARTHUR 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.

DISCUSSION...VERY MOIST AND MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIRMASS CONTINUES TO
FEED INTO STRONG THUNDERSTORMS SCENTRAL TX.  WITH SFC-6KM SHEAR OF
50KT AND 1KM SHEAR 20-25 KT  CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR
SUPERCELLS ALONG WITH TORNADO POTENTIAL.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23030.


...HALES

293,0983 304,0935 293,0933 282,0981

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 22, 6:18 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAustin, Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Chambers, Colorado and 19 more87 min
Nov 22, 10:49 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtascosa, Austin, Bexar, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado and 21 more116 min
Nov 22, 12:56 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtascosa, Austin, Bexar, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado and 20 more64 min
Nov 22, 1:35 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAustin, Bexar, Caldwell, Chambers, Colorado, DeWitt and 16 more5 hr
Nov 22, 3:31 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCEl Paso, Hudspeth2 hr
Nov 22, 3:34 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAustin, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado and 18 more116 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.