Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2015
Tornado Watch 65
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 16, 2015, 8:36 PM CDT for 16 counties in Texas. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 16, 2015, 8:36 PM CDT (01:36 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 17, 2015, 12:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Austin County, TX, Brazoria County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Colorado County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Harris County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Matagorda County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Orange County, TX, Waller County, TX, Washington County, TX, Wharton County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 62 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:40 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
- 30%
- 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
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 30%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
7 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 8:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Austin, Colorado, Fort Bend, Waller, Wharton | 48 min |
| Apr 16, 9:03 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Chambers, Harris, Liberty | 117 min |
| Apr 16, 9:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Fort Bend | 30 min |
| Apr 16, 9:59 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LCH | Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange | 3 hr |
| Apr 16, 10:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Fort Bend | 46 min |
| Apr 16, 10:54 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Chambers, Harris, Liberty | 3 hr |
| Apr 17, 12:00 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Harris | 2 hr |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 296 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2661 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -14 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 705 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 126 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 152 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.6
- Supercell composite
- 13.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
934 WWUS20 KWNS 170132 SEL5 SPC WW 170132 TXZ000-CWZ000-170500- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 65 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 830 PM CDT THU APR 16 2015 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS COASTAL WATERS * EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY NIGHT FROM 830 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT. * PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE... A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE SUMMARY...SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH A RISK FOR A COUPLE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...AND LOCALLY DAMAGING WIND EXPECTED TO PERSIST OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 45 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 75 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF ANGLETON TEXAS TO 10 MILES NORTHEAST OF PORT ARTHUR TEXAS. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5). 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 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 60. WATCH NUMBER 60 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 830 PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 59...WW 61...WW 62...WW 63...WW 64... 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 550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25025. ...CORFIDI
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 7:08 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Collingsworth, Wheeler | 2 hr |
| Apr 16, 7:16 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Archer, Baylor, Briscoe, Brown, Callahan, Childress and 41 more | 89 min |
| Apr 16, 7:44 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dallam, Hansford, Sherman | 61 min |
| Apr 16, 8:20 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris and 2 more | 85 min |
| Apr 16, 10:20 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Andrews, Armstrong, Borden, Briscoe, Carson, Castro and 32 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 16, 11:33 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston and 6 more | 87 min |
| Apr 16, 11:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Hemphill, Roberts, Wheeler | 5 hr |
| Apr 17, 1:10 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Borden, Childress, Cottle, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens and 13 more | 95 min |
| Apr 17, 2:02 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Hemphill, Lipscomb, Roberts and 1 more | 88 min |
| Apr 17, 4:43 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Hardeman | 62 min |
| Apr 17, 10:26 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bandera, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Comal, Edwards and 12 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 17, 10:55 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baylor, Brown, Callahan, Coke, Coleman, Concho and 15 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 17, 11:53 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Archer, Atascosa, Bandera, Baylor, Bee, Bell and 73 more | 7 hr |
| Apr 17, 1:31 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atascosa, Bee, Calhoun, DeWitt, Dimmit, Frio and 12 more | 89 min |
| Apr 17, 3:06 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Donley, Gray and 8 more | 84 min |
| Apr 17, 3:22 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aransas, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Colorado, DeWitt and 11 more | 113 min |
| Apr 17, 3:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Aransas, Atascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Brazoria, Brazos and 30 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 17, 5:02 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Archer, Baylor, Bosque, Brown, Callahan, Clay and 28 more | 88 min |
| Apr 17, 5:41 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Brazoria, Brooks, Calhoun and 26 more | 94 min |
| Apr 17, 6:57 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Duval, Goliad and 16 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
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.