Alert archive / Texas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2011

Mesoscale Discussion 232

March 18, 201124 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 18, 2011, 5:53 PM CDT for 24 counties in Texas. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 18, 2011, 5:53 PM CDT (22:53 UTC)
Expired
Mar 18, 2011, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 24 counties

Borden County, TX, Callahan County, TX, Coke County, TX, Coleman County, TX, Crane County, TX, Dawson County, TX, Ector County, TX, Fisher County, TX, Glasscock County, TX, Howard County, TX, Jones County, TX, Kent County, TX, Martin County, TX, Midland County, TX, Mitchell County, TX, Nolan County, TX, Pecos County, TX, Reagan County, TX, Runnels County, TX, Scurry County, TX, Shackelford County, TX, Sterling County, TX, Taylor County, TX, Upton County, TX

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:56 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, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 84 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 2011-03-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 21 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 2011-03-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 12 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
21 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-438 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2923 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
13 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.

541 
ACUS11 KWNS 182253
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 182253 
TXZ000-190130-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0232
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0553 PM CDT FRI MAR 18 2011

AREAS AFFECTED...PORTIONS OF W CNTRL TX

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH UNLIKELY 

VALID 182253Z - 190130Z

STRONG STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST FOR A FEW MORE HOURS BEFORE
DISSIPATING BY LATE EVENING. MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL OR WIND GUSTS
MAY OCCUR...BUT THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY ORGANIZED SEVERE THREAT.

STRONG HEATING HAS RESULTED IN VERY STEEP LOW TO MID LEVEL LAPSE
RATE PROFILES OVER SW TX S OF A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WHICH WAS
DECELERATING.  WEAK CONVERGENCE ALONG THE FRONT AND SUFFICIENT
MOISTURE HAS RESULTED IN SCATTERED STRONG STORMS.

WIND PROFILES ALOFT ARE GENERALLY WEAK WITH SOME RIDGINESS WITH LESS
THAN 30 KTS OF MID LEVEL FLOW NOTED ON AREA PROFILERS. IN
ADDITION...WINDS IN THE LOWEST FEW KM ARE WEAK AS WELL...WHICH DOES
NOT LEND SUPPORT TO UPSCALE GROWTH.  HOWEVER...A SELY LOW LEVEL JET
IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE AFTER SUNSET...WHICH MAY PUSH THE EFFECTIVE
BOUNDARY A BIT FARTHER N ACROSS THE S PLAINS. WHILE THIS MAY ALLOW
FOR ISOLATED STORMS TO PERSIST THROUGH ABOUT 06Z...THE THREAT IS NOT
EXPECTED TO WARRANT A WATCH.

..JEWELL.. 03/18/2011

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...FWD...SJT...LUB...MAF...

LAT...LON   33030205 33240092 33009931 32699893 31859899 31699989
            31110176 30530247 30590278 31240276 32120270 32470247
            33030205

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Texas, 2011Every mesoscale discussion in 2011

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.