Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Brownsville, TX

April 16, 2012Cameron County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 16, 2012, 4:56 PM CDT for Cameron County, Texas. It was in force for 34 min. 2 reports 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 16, 2012, 4:56 PM CDT (21:56 UTC)
Expired: Apr 16, 2012, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Brownsville, TX
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Cameron County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 23 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:56 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 16, 5:02 PM CDT	FUNNEL CLOUD	N Los Fresnos, TX	PUBLIC REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUDS NORTH OF LOS FRESNOS.
Apr 16, 5:05 PM CDT	FUNNEL CLOUD	Los Fresnos, TX	NWS EMPLOYEE A. VEGA REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUDS NEAR LAURELES AND INDIAN LAKE.

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 16, 3:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 25 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: 2823 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 536 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 125 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 249 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.

698 
WFUS54 KBRO 162156
TORBRO
TXC061-162230-
/O.NEW.KBRO.TO.W.0008.120416T2156Z-120416T2230Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
456 PM CDT MON APR 16 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL CAMERON COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.

* UNTIL 530 PM CDT

* AT 456 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE
  TRACKING A TORNADO NEAR LAURELES...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  LOZANO.
  LAURELES.
  LOS FRESNOS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM! MOVE INTO THE INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING...AWAY FROM WINDOWS. COVER YOUR HEAD AND
BODY 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 2613 9730 2596 9746 2612 9767 2625 9753
TIME...MOT...LOC 2156Z 314DEG 16KT 2612 9752

$$

64

1 follow-up statement

378 
WWUS54 KBRO 162206
SVSBRO

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
506 PM CDT MON APR 16 2012

TXC061-162230-
/O.CON.KBRO.TO.W.0008.000000T0000Z-120416T2230Z/
CAMERON-
506 PM CDT MON APR 16 2012

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 530 PM CDT FOR CENTRAL
CAMERON COUNTY...

AT 506 PM CDT...A WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD NEAR 
LAURELES AND INDIAN LAKES.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  INDIAN LAKE BY 505 PM CDT.
  LOS FRESNOS BY 510 PM CDT.
  BAYVIEW BY 515 PM CDT.
  DEL MAR HEIGHTS BY 520 PM CDT.
  LOS CUATES BY 525 PM CDT.

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.

FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN SIGHTED. CONDITIONS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADO DEVELOPMENT. MOVE INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING IMMEDIATELY...AND
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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 2613 9730 2596 9746 2612 9767 2625 9753
TIME...MOT...LOC 2206Z 314DEG 16KT 2609 9748

$$

64

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 15, 8:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Zapata	57 min
Apr 15, 8:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Brooks, Jim Hogg	61 min
Apr 15, 8:52 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BRO	Zapata	34 min
Apr 15, 9:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Zapata	59 min
Apr 15, 9:06 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BRO	Brooks, Jim Hogg	84 min
Apr 15, 9:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Jim Hogg	58 min
Apr 15, 9:52 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BRO	Jim Hogg	2 hr
Apr 15, 9:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Starr, Zapata	63 min
Apr 15, 10:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Jim Hogg, Starr	55 min
Apr 15, 11:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Starr, Zapata	64 min
Apr 15, 11:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Starr	60 min
Apr 15, 11:22 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BRO	Starr	83 min
Apr 16, 12:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo	39 min
Apr 16, 1:04 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		86 min
Apr 16, 1:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Kenedy	33 min
Apr 16, 2:21 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BRO	Hidalgo, Willacy	54 min
Apr 16, 2:29 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		61 min
Apr 16, 2:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo, Starr	43 min
Apr 16, 2:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo, Willacy	32 min
Apr 16, 3:19 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BRO	Hidalgo, Willacy	56 min
Apr 16, 3:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo	50 min
Apr 16, 3:30 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		60 min
Apr 16, 3:32 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BRO	Kenedy, Willacy	28 min
Apr 16, 3:44 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BRO	Hidalgo	61 min
Apr 16, 4:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Kenedy, Willacy	44 min
Apr 16, 4:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Cameron, Willacy	39 min
Apr 16, 4:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Willacy	29 min
Apr 16, 4:25 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BRO	Cameron	35 min
Apr 16, 4:27 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BRO	Cameron, Willacy	63 min
Apr 16, 4:30 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		60 min
Apr 16, 5:03 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		117 min
Apr 16, 5:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Cameron	32 min
Apr 16, 5:30 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		2 hr
Apr 16, 5:36 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BRO	Cameron	54 min
Apr 16, 6:58 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		62 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2012 Every tornado warning in 2012 Tornadoes 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.