Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 137

April 3, 201219 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Apr 3, 2012, 7:35 PM CDT for 19 counties in Texas. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 3, 2012, 7:35 PM CDT (00:35 UTC)
Expired
Apr 4, 2012, 3:00 AM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Austin County, TX, Bastrop County, TX, Brazos County, TX, Burleson County, TX, Colorado County, TX, Fayette County, TX, Grimes County, TX, Houston County, TX, Lavaca County, TX, Lee County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Madison County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Polk County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX, Trinity County, TX, Walker County, TX, Waller County, TX, Washington County, TX

The radar

The Ft Hood radar (KGRK), 130 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:36 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 SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 3, 8:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston39 min
Apr 3, 9:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazos, Grimes, Madison48 min
Apr 3, 9:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston47 min
Apr 3, 9:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazos, Grimes, Madison, Walker48 min
Apr 4, 12:29 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk, Trinity46 min
Apr 4, 12:44 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMontgomery, Walker46 min
Apr 4, 1:52 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMontgomery, San Jacinto, Walker38 min
Apr 4, 2:31 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXLiberty, Polk, San Jacinto59 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 275 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2012-04-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 705 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2012-04-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -113 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
705 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-39 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
593 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-113 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-19 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.4
Supercell composite
-2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 3, 8:47 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAngelina, Cherokee, Houston, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk and 3 more58 min
Apr 3, 9:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAngelina, Cherokee, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Nacogdoches and 8 more8 hr
Apr 3, 11:24 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAngelina, Austin, Colorado, Jasper, Lavaca, Montgomery and 10 more96 min
Apr 4, 2:29 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChambers, Hardin, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty, Orange and 2 more91 min
Apr 4, 12:19 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAransas, Austin, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers and 25 more86 min
Apr 4, 12:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAransas, Bee, Brazoria, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron and 19 more6 hr
Apr 4, 3:32 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Galveston, Kleberg, Matagorda and 1 more88 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Texas, 2012Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.