Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2015

Tornado Watch 94

April 22, 201513 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 22, 2015, 11:13 AM CDT for 13 counties in Texas. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 22, 2015, 11:13 AM CDT (16:13 UTC)
Expired
Apr 22, 2015, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Aransas County, TX, Bee County, TX, Calhoun County, TX, Duval County, TX, Goliad County, TX, Jim Wells County, TX, Kleberg County, TX, Live Oak County, TX, McMullen County, TX, Nueces County, TX, Refugio County, TX, San Patricio County, TX, Victoria County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:14 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
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
40%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
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 22, 11:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPDuval, Jim Wells, Live Oak, McMullen35 min
Apr 22, 12:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPDuval, Jim Wells45 min
Apr 22, 12:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPJim Wells, Nueces, San Patricio33 min
Apr 22, 12:53 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPNueces, San Patricio112 min
Apr 22, 12:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPKleberg, Nueces46 min
Apr 22, 1:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPKleberg, Nueces30 min
Apr 22, 2:00 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPKleberg, Nueces, San Patricio90 min
Apr 22, 2:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPKleberg, Nueces14 min
Apr 22, 3:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPBee, Goliad21 min
Apr 22, 4:09 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPGoliad66 min
Apr 22, 4:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPBee, Goliad, Refugio, Victoria31 min
Apr 22, 4:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPAransas, Calhoun, Goliad, Refugio, Victoria31 min
Apr 22, 5:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPAransas, Calhoun, Refugio44 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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 55 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2015-04-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 856 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2015-04-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 159 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
856 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-173 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
763 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
159 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
202 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

001 
WWUS20 KWNS 221610
SEL4  
SPC WW 221610
TXZ000-CWZ000-222200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 94
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1115 AM CDT WED APR 22 2015

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 
  MIDDLE TEXAS COAST
  COASTAL WATERS

* EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1115 AM
  UNTIL 500 PM CDT.

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

SUMMARY...ISOLATED BUT INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY OVER
PARTS OF THE CENTRAL TX GULF COAST REGION TODAY...WITH ISOLATED
SUPERCELLS POSSIBLE.  VERY MOIST CONDITIONS AND BACKED LOW LEVEL
WINDS POSE A RISK OF ISOLATED TORNADOES...ALONG WITH HAIL AND
DAMAGING WINDS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF
ALICE TEXAS TO 30 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF BEEVILLE 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.

&&

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 27030.


...HART

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 22, 2:55 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHemphill, Wheeler3 hr
Apr 22, 10:43 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAransas, Atascosa, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Bee and 36 more2 hr
Apr 22, 12:07 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCJim Wells, Nueces83 min
Apr 22, 1:43 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtascosa, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell and 15 more92 min
Apr 22, 2:07 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Armstrong, Baylor, Briscoe, Castro, Childress and 25 more2 hr
Apr 22, 2:29 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAransas, Bee, Calhoun, Duval, Goliad, Jim Wells and 5 more61 min
Apr 22, 2:56 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCArcher, Armstrong, Bailey, Baylor, Briscoe, Callahan and 36 more9 hr
Apr 22, 5:48 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBosque, Comanche, Coryell, Ellis, Erath, Hamilton and 8 more117 min
Apr 22, 6:45 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Armstrong, Baylor, Briscoe, Carson, Castro and 29 more2 hr

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.