Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2015

Tornado Watch 124

April 26, 201525 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 26, 2015, 10:45 PM CDT for 25 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 26, 2015, 10:45 PM CDT (03:45 UTC)
Expired
Apr 27, 2015, 3:59 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 25 counties

Anderson County, TX, Bell County, TX, Bosque County, TX, Comanche County, TX, Coryell County, TX, Ellis County, TX, Erath County, TX, Falls County, TX, Freestone County, TX, Hamilton County, TX, Henderson County, TX, Hill County, TX, Hood County, TX, Johnson County, TX, Kaufman County, TX, Lampasas County, TX, Leon County, TX, Limestone County, TX, McLennan County, TX, Milam County, TX, Mills County, TX, Navarro County, TX, Robertson County, TX, Somervell County, TX, Van Zandt County, TX

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:45 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
50%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
50%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
40%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 26, 10:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDEllis, Hill, Johnson58 min
Apr 26, 11:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHill60 min
Apr 26, 11:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDEllis27 min
Apr 26, 11:24 PM CDTTornado Warning Tornado observedFWDHill36 min
Apr 26, 11:28 PM CDTTornado Warning Tornado observedFWDEllis, Hill, Johnson32 min
Apr 26, 11:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDJohnson52 min
Apr 26, 11:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDallas, Ellis, Tarrant62 min
Apr 26, 11:45 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFWDBosque, Ellis, Hill3 hr
Apr 26, 11:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDEllis, Hill, Navarro63 min
Apr 26, 11:58 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDEllis, Hill, Johnson32 min
Apr 27, 12:12 AM CDTTornado WarningFWDEllis33 min
Apr 27, 12:27 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDBosque, Hill, McLennan31 min
Apr 27, 12:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDLimestone47 min
Apr 27, 3:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDAnderson60 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, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 122 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 2015-04-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1199 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 2015-04-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 68 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1199 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-82 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1646 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
248 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
3.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

203 
WWUS20 KWNS 270343
SEL4  
SPC WW 270343
TXZ000-271000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 124
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1045 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 
  PARTS OF CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

* EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FROM 1045 PM
  UNTIL 500 AM CDT.

* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
  A FEW TORNADOES POSSIBLE
  SCATTERED LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2
    INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE

SUMMARY...CLUSTER OF SUPERCELLS JUST SW OF DFW METROPLEX MAY PERSIST
FOR ANOTHER COUPLE OF HOURS...WITH A CONTINUED RISK FOR LARGE HAIL
AND A FEW TORNADOES.  AFTER MIDNIGHT...THE CONVECTION SHOULD BEGIN
TO MOVE MORE CLEARLY EWD AS THE PACIFIC COLD FRONT CONVECTION
OVERTAKES THE SUPERCELLS FROM THE W.  LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS
WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 85 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF
CORSICANA TEXAS TO 50 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF TEMPLE TEXAS.  FOR
A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND 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.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 121. WATCH NUMBER 121 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER
1045 PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 123...

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27020.


...THOMPSON

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 26, 7:10 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Baylor, Carson, Childress, Clay, Collingsworth and 14 more65 min
Apr 26, 7:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBandera, Bexar, Blanco, Brown, Burnet, Coleman and 24 more6 hr
Apr 26, 9:29 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDallas, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman and 4 more91 min
Apr 27, 12:49 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Angelina, Atascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Bexar and 49 more86 min
Apr 27, 1:27 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAngelina, Atascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Brazos and 50 more6 hr
Apr 27, 3:42 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Baylor, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Foard and 12 more93 min
Apr 27, 4:56 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAngelina, Chambers, Hardin, Harris, Jasper, Jefferson and 13 more2 hr
Apr 27, 5:25 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrooks, Kenedy95 min
Apr 27, 6:01 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCJefferson, Orange7 hr
Apr 27, 1:08 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAngelina, Chambers, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty and 9 more97 min
Apr 27, 3:29 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAustin, Bastrop, Bell, Bosque, Brazos, Burleson and 22 more91 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2015Every tornado watch 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.