Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Brownsville, TX

May 9, 2012Cameron County, Willacy County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at May 9, 2012, 10:40 PM CDT for Cameron County, Willacy County, Texas. It was in force for 35 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
May 9, 2012, 10:40 PM CDT (03:40 UTC)
Expired
May 9, 2012, 11:15 PM CDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Cameron County, TX, Willacy County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 50 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:42 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

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 00:00Z, 3.7 hours before the alert went out and 53 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 2012-05-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2929 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 2012-05-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -5 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
2929 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
482 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-12 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

367 
WFUS54 KBRO 100340
TORBRO
TXC061-489-100415-
/O.NEW.KBRO.TO.W.0015.120510T0340Z-120510T0415Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
1040 PM CDT WED MAY 9 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN CAMERON COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.
  SOUTHERN WILLACY COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.

* UNTIL 1115 PM CDT

* AT 1040 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE
  TRACKING A TORNADO OVER NORTHWESTERN CAMERON COUNTY...MOVING EAST
  AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  SEBASTIAN.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TORNADOES ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS AT NIGHT. TAKE COVER NOW! MOVE TO
A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES. IF
IN A VEHICLE AND THERE IS NO STURDY BUILDING NEARBY...PARK. CLOSE
WINDOWS...LEAVE SEATBELTS ON...GET LOWER THAN THE DASHBOARD...AND
COVER YOUR HEAD...PREFERABLY WITH BLANKETS OR PILLOWS. IF THERE IS NO
DEBRIS...LEAVE THE VEHICLE AND GO INTO A DITCH OR LOW SPOT...BUT
WATCH FOR RISING WATERS.

PLEASE REPORT TORNADOES OR FUNNEL CLOUDS...WINDS OF 58 MPH OR
HIGHER...HAIL THE SIZE OF PENNIES OR LARGER...AND ANY WIND DAMAGE TO
YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE BY CALLING 956-504-1432.

&&

LAT...LON 2634 9756 2625 9756 2627 9783 2635 9783
TIME...MOT...LOC 0340Z 271DEG 18KT 2631 9776

$$

SPEECE
2 follow-up statements
126 
WWUS54 KBRO 100358
SVSBRO

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
1058 PM CDT WED MAY 9 2012

TXC061-489-100415-
/O.CON.KBRO.TO.W.0015.000000T0000Z-120510T0415Z/
CAMERON-WILLACY-
1058 PM CDT WED MAY 9 2012

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1115 PM CDT FOR SOUTHERN
WILLACY AND NORTHWESTERN CAMERON COUNTIES...

AT 1058 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS CONTINUED 
TO TRACK A TORNADO 8 MILES NORTHWEST OF HARLINGEN VALLEY AIRPORT... 
MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM! ACT QUICKLY. GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM
ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING...AWAY FROM WINDOWS. COVER
YOUR HEAD WITH PILLOWS OR BLANKETS.

PLEASE REPORT TORNADOES OR FUNNEL CLOUDS...WINDS OF 58 MPH OR
HIGHER...HAIL THE SIZE OF PENNIES OR LARGER...AND ANY WIND DAMAGE TO
YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE BY CALLING 956-504-1432.

&&


LAT...LON 2634 9756 2625 9756 2627 9783 2635 9783
TIME...MOT...LOC 0358Z 272DEG 9KT 2630 9774

$$

SPEECE
268 
WWUS54 KBRO 100421
SVSBRO

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
1121 PM CDT WED MAY 9 2012

TXC061-489-100428-
/O.EXP.KBRO.TO.W.0015.000000T0000Z-120510T0415Z/
CAMERON-WILLACY-
1121 PM CDT WED MAY 9 2012

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTHERN WILLACY AND NORTHWESTERN CAMERON
COUNTIES HAS EXPIRED...

AT 1115 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THE 
THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTHERN WILLACY COUNTY HAS WEAKENED AND WAS NO 
LONGER SEVERE...THUS THE TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

ALTHOUGH THE TORNADO WARNING HAS EXPIRED...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES 
THAT LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...AND GUSTY WINDS FROM 30 TO 35 
MPH WERE STILL POSSIBLE FROM THIS THUNDERSTORM AS IT HEADS OVER 
SOUTHEASTERN WILLACY COUNTY TOWARDS THE LAGUNA MADRE. 

LAT...LON 2634 9756 2625 9756 2627 9783 2635 9783
TIME...MOT...LOC 0358Z 271DEG 13KT 2630 9773

$$

SPEECE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 9, 7:48 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBROHidalgo, Starr87 min
May 9, 9:19 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBROHidalgo, Willacy86 min
May 9, 9:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROHidalgo, Willacy46 min
May 9, 10:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo, Willacy58 min
May 9, 10:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROBrooks, Kenedy52 min
May 9, 10:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Willacy39 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2012Every tornado warning in 2012Tornadoes in 2012

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.