Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

April 11, 2009Gaines County, Texas

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 11, 2009, 4:41 PM CDT for Gaines County, Texas. It was in force for 34 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Apr 11, 2009, 4:41 PM CDT (21:41 UTC)
Expired: Apr 11, 2009, 5:15 PM CDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Gaines County, TX

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:41 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 11, 4:50 PM CDT	HAIL 1.75	Higginbotham, TX

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 11, 3:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 125 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1657 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 514 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 417 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KMAF 112141
TORMAF
TXC165-112215-
/O.NEW.KMAF.TO.W.0001.090411T2141Z-090411T2215Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
441 PM CDT SAT APR 11 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN GAINES COUNTY IN WEST TEXAS...

* UNTIL 515 PM CDT

* AT 439 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR
  HIGGINBOTHAM...OR 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DENVER CITY...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL AFFECT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
  HIGGINBOTHAM...
  OPEN COUNTRY OF NORTHWESTERN GAINES COUNTY...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

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.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM CDT
SATURDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS.

&&

LAT...LON 3295 10277 3276 10290 3289 10305 3296 10305
      3296 10277
TIME...MOT...LOC 2140Z 212DEG 38KT 3290 10301

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS54 KMAF 112203
SVSMAF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
503 PM CDT SAT APR 11 2009

TXC165-112215-
/O.CON.KMAF.TO.W.0001.000000T0000Z-090411T2215Z/
GAINES TX-
503 PM CDT SAT APR 11 2009

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 515 PM CDT FOR
NORTHWESTERN GAINES COUNTY...

AT 500 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS CONTINUED TO
DETECT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 3 MILES
NORTHEAST OF HIGGINBOTHAM NEAR HIGHWAY 83.

SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THE TORNADO INCLUDE...
HIGHWAY 83 IN NORTHWESTERN GAINES COUNTY...
OPEN COUNTRY OF EXTREME NORTHWESTERN GAINES COUNTY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

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.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM CDT
SATURDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS.

&&

LAT...LON 3295 10277 3276 10290 3289 10305 3296 10305
      3296 10277
TIME...MOT...LOC 2200Z 212DEG 38KT 3289 10302

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 11, 11:50 AM CDT	Wind Advisory	MAF	Borden, Crane, Ector, Glasscock, Howard, Martin and 9 more	7 hr
Apr 11, 2:33 PM CDT	Fire Weather Watch	MAF	Pecos, Terrell	15 hr
Apr 11, 3:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Gaines	49 min
Apr 11, 4:05 PM CDT	High Wind Watch	MAF		14 hr
Apr 11, 5:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Loving, Reeves, Ward, Winkler	63 min
Apr 11, 5:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Andrews, Ector, Gaines, Winkler	43 min
Apr 11, 5:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Dawson, Gaines	62 min
Apr 11, 6:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Andrews, Gaines	55 min
Apr 11, 6:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Andrews, Ector, Winkler	34 min
Apr 11, 6:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Crane, Ector, Ward, Winkler	57 min
Apr 11, 6:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Dawson, Gaines	54 min
Apr 11, 6:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Andrews, Crane, Dawson, Ector, Gaines, Martin and 1 more	60 min
Apr 11, 6:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Pecos, Reeves, Ward	59 min
Apr 11, 6:49 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Gaines	3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2009 Every tornado warning in 2009 Tornadoes in 2009

Sources

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