Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 209

April 30, 201218 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Apr 30, 2012, 2:39 PM CDT for 18 counties in Texas. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 30, 2012, 2:39 PM CDT (19:39 UTC)
Expired
Apr 30, 2012, 9:15 PM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Borden County, TX, Brewster County, TX, Crane County, TX, Dawson County, TX, Ector County, TX, Howard County, TX, Jeff Davis County, TX, Martin County, TX, Midland County, TX, Mitchell County, TX, Pecos County, TX, Presidio County, TX, Reeves County, TX, Scurry County, TX, Terrell County, TX, Upton County, TX, Ward County, TX, Winkler County, TX

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 211 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:40 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
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
40%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 30, 3:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster, Jeff Davis, Pecos62 min
Apr 30, 4:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster66 min
Apr 30, 4:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster, Pecos59 min
Apr 30, 4:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster52 min
Apr 30, 5:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBorden, Scurry56 min
Apr 30, 5:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster59 min
Apr 30, 5:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster51 min
Apr 30, 5:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBorden, Scurry63 min
Apr 30, 6:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBrewster39 min
Apr 30, 6:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFHoward, Martin58 min
Apr 30, 6:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBorden, Scurry65 min
Apr 30, 6:52 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningMAFBorden, Scurry3 hr
Apr 30, 7:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBorden, Scurry62 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

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 211 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 2012-04-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1590 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 2012-04-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 155 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
1590 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-246 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1149 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
155 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
184 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.

833 
WWUS20 KWNS 301935
SEL9  
SPC WW 301935
TXZ000-010300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 209
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
235 PM CDT MON APR 30 2012

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       SOUTHWEST TEXAS

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 235 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.

HAIL TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60
STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 95 MILES SOUTH
SOUTHEAST OF MARFA TEXAS TO 20 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF MIDLAND
TEXAS.  FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED
WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9).

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY
DO PRODUCE TORNADOES.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 208...

DISCUSSION...INCIPIENT TSTM DEVELOPMENT IS UNDERWAY ALONG THE DAVIS
MOUNTAINS W OF FST.  INFLOW AIR MASS IS CHARACTERIZED BY A
HOT...MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER WITH MLCAPE OF 2000-3000 J/KG.  THIS
INSTABILITY COMBINED WITH A VERTICALLY VEERING WIND PROFILE AND
30-35 KT OF DEEP-LAYER SHEAR WILL SUPPORT SUPERCELL STORM MODES WITH
THE PRIMARY HAZARD BEING LARGE HAIL.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 2.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 27015.


...MEAD

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 29, 7:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAndrews, Bailey, Borden, Briscoe, Castro, Cochran and 14 more4 hr
Apr 29, 7:33 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarson, Dallam, Gray, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill and 8 more87 min
Apr 29, 8:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCArmstrong, Carson, Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Hemphill and 6 more6 hr
Apr 29, 10:04 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Borden, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress and 29 more86 min
Apr 29, 10:31 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDallam, Hansford, Lipscomb, Ochiltree, Sherman119 min
Apr 29, 10:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBailey, Borden, Castro, Cochran, Dawson, Garza and 11 more4 hr
Apr 30, 12:38 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Carson, Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Hansford and 9 more37 min
Apr 30, 2:15 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBriscoe, Castro, Crosby, Dickens, Floyd, Garza and 5 more30 min
Apr 30, 2:08 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCrane, Ector, Midland, Pecos, Terrell, Upton97 min
Apr 30, 2:58 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Cochran and 21 more62 min
Apr 30, 3:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCArmstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress and 35 more7 hr
Apr 30, 5:19 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGray, Hemphill, Lipscomb, Ochiltree, Roberts, Wheeler56 min
Apr 30, 5:42 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCArmstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Donley and 12 more7 hr
Apr 30, 6:11 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaylor, Borden, Callahan, Coke, Coleman, Concho and 48 more2 hr
Apr 30, 6:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCArcher, Baylor, Callahan, Coke, Coleman, Concho and 33 more6 hr

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.