Alert archive / Texas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 2163

December 16, 20126 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Dec 16, 2012, 1:51 PM CST for 6 counties in Texas. It was in force for 84 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Dec 16, 2012, 1:51 PM CST (19:51 UTC)
Expired
Dec 16, 2012, 3:15 PM CST
In force
84 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
40%

Counties Aransas County, TX, Calhoun County, TX, Jackson County, TX, Matagorda County, TX, Refugio County, TX, Victoria County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 151 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:50 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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 145 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 2012-12-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1579 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 2012-12-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 142 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1579 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-67 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
517 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
69 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
142 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
5.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

190 
ACUS11 KWNS 161951
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 161951 
TXZ000-162115-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 2163
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0151 PM CST SUN DEC 16 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...THE MIDDLE TX COAST

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH POSSIBLE 

VALID 161951Z - 162115Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...40 PERCENT

SUMMARY...ISOLATED STRONG/SEVERE STORM DEVELOPMENT IS POSSIBLE NEAR
THE INTERSECTION OF A SURFACE TROUGH AND AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY. 
DAMAGING GUSTS AND MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL MAY OCCUR WITH THE
STRONGEST STORMS...THOUGH THE NEED FOR A WATCH IS UNCERTAIN.

DISCUSSION...RADAR AND VISIBLE IMAGERY SHOW NEW CONVECTION
DEVELOPING NEAR VCT AT THE INTERSECTION OF AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM
THE MORNING CONVECTION...AND A MORE NNE-SSW ORIENTED SURFACE TROUGH.
 SURFACE TEMPERATURES AND DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 70S AND NEAR
70...RESPECTIVELY...ARE CONTRIBUTING TO MLCAPE OF AT LEAST 1500
J/KG.  DEEP-LAYER WSWLY VERTICAL SHEAR IS SUFFICIENT FOR SUPERCELLS
ACROSS THIS AREA...AND THE MORE INTENSE STORMS COULD PRODUCE
ISOLATED DAMAGING GUSTS AND MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL. 
ADDITIONALLY...LOW-LEVEL SHEAR IS SOMEWHAT STRONGER ALONG THE
RESIDUAL OUTFLOW BOUNDARY...SUCH THAT A BRIEF TORNADO CANNOT BE
RULED OUT.  THE COVERAGE OF SEVERE STORMS IS IN QUESTION THIS
AFTERNOON...THOUGH A SMALL WATCH COULD BE NEEDED ACROSS PARTS OF THE
MIDDLE TX COAST.

..THOMPSON/CORFIDI.. 12/16/2012

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

ATTN...WFO...HGX...CRP...

LAT...LON   28309634 28039705 28159730 28439741 29049692 29219672
            29299639 29199586 29119544 28839528 28719544 28309634

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 16, 5:00 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAngelina, Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado and 29 more90 min
Dec 16, 5:48 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAngelina, Austin, Bastrop, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson and 38 more7 hr
Dec 16, 9:54 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Galveston, Jackson, Jefferson and 3 more96 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Texas, 2012Every mesoscale discussion 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.