Alert archive / Texas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2015

Mesoscale Discussion 1721

August 19, 201520 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Aug 19, 2015, 3:25 PM CDT for 20 counties in Texas. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 19, 2015, 3:25 PM CDT (20:25 UTC)
Expired
Aug 19, 2015, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
5%

Counties Bandera County, TX, Brewster County, TX, Concho County, TX, Crockett County, TX, Edwards County, TX, Gillespie County, TX, Irion County, TX, Kerr County, TX, Kimble County, TX, Kinney County, TX, Mason County, TX, McCulloch County, TX, Menard County, TX, Pecos County, TX, Presidio County, TX, Real County, TX, Schleicher County, TX, Sutton County, TX, Terrell County, TX, Val Verde County, TX

The radar

The Laughlin AFB radar (KDFX), 165 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:27 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

Del Rio, TX (KDLF), launched 12:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 113 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, Del Rio, TX at 12:00Z on 2015-08-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 930 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Del Rio, TX at 12:00Z on 2015-08-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 60 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
930 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-277 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1171 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
60 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.

454 
ACUS11 KWNS 192025
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 192025 
TXZ000-192230-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1721
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0325 PM CDT WED AUG 19 2015

AREAS AFFECTED...PORTIONS OF SW AND CNTRL TX

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH UNLIKELY 

VALID 192025Z - 192230Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...5 PERCENT

SUMMARY...ISOLATED SVR TSTMS MAY DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE
NEXT FEW HOURS AND SPREAD SWD INTO THE EVENING HOURS. WW ISSUANCE IS
UNLIKELY.

DISCUSSION...AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT DRAPED W-E ACROSS CNTRL TX...THE
AIR MASS FROM THE TX BIG BEND VICINITY TO CNTRL TX CONTINUES TO
DESTABILIZE. SFC-3-KM LAPSE RATES HAVE INCREASED TO 7.5-9.0 C/KM
AMIDST DEWPOINTS IN THE 60S SUPPORTING MLCAPE AROUND 2000-3000 J/KG.
VISIBLE SATELLITE AND MOSAIC RADAR IMAGERY INDICATE DEEPER
CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT UNDERWAY INVOF THE COLD FRONT...WITH TOWERING
CU NOTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH DIURNALLY ENHANCED OROGRAPHIC
CIRCULATIONS AROUND THE TX BIG BEND REGION. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF
THIS ACTIVITY IS ANTICIPATED DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS. DESPITE
MODEST MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES...SUFFICIENTLY LARGE BUOYANCY WILL
EXIST FOR A FEW INSTANCES OF SVR WIND/HAIL...WITH THE SVR-WIND
POTENTIAL AIDED BY 1000-1500 J/KG OF DCAPE. HOWEVER...LARGE-SCALE
ASCENT IS LACKING PER WATER-VAPOR IMAGERY...AND EFFECTIVE-BULK SHEAR
IS GENERALLY AOB 25 KT. THESE FACTORS WILL PREVENT A MORE
SUBSTANTIAL SVR RISK FROM EVOLVING...THOUGH ISOLATED SVR TSTMS
SPREADING SWD INTO THE EVENING WILL BE POSSIBLE.

..COHEN/CORFIDI.. 08/19/2015

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

ATTN...WFO...EWX...SJT...MAF...

LAT...LON   30250441 31320103 31459937 30869880 29909871 29160063
            29360113 29690175 29620256 29020294 28940330 29520441
            30250441

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 8:24 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Collingsworth, Deaf Smith and 9 more3 hr
Aug 18, 11:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCArmstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Collingsworth and 23 more6 hr
Aug 19, 3:57 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Armstrong, Baylor, Briscoe, Castro, Childress and 20 more63 min
Aug 19, 2:45 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Bell, Bosque, Burnet, Cherokee, Coryell and 28 more3 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Texas, 2015Every mesoscale discussion in 2015

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.