Alert archive / Texas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2016

Mesoscale Discussion 528

May 2, 2016Starr County, Zapata County, Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 2, 2016, 12:38 AM CDT for Starr County, Zapata County, Texas. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 2, 2016, 12:38 AM CDT (05:38 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 2016, 2:45 AM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
20%

Counties Starr County, TX, Zapata County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 177 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:39 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

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 00:00Z, 5.6 hours before the alert went out and 179 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 2016-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1767 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 2016-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -7 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1767 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-153 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
826 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

548 
ACUS11 KWNS 020538
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 020538 
TXZ000-020745-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0528
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1238 AM CDT MON MAY 02 2016

AREAS AFFECTED...LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH UNLIKELY 

VALID 020538Z - 020745Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...20 PERCENT

SUMMARY...SUPERCELL ALONG THE NUEVO LEON AND TAMAULIPAS BORDER
SHOULD AFFECT PARTS OF THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY ON ITS CURRENT
SOUTHEASTWARD TRACK. LARGE HAIL /INCLUDING HAIL ABOVE 2 INCHES IN
DIAMETER/...SEVERE WIND GUSTS AND A BRIEF TORNADO ARE ALL POSSIBLE.
LIMITED SPATIAL EXTENT OF THE THREAT MAY PRECLUDE WW ISSUANCE.

DISCUSSION...SUPERCELL DUE WEST OF ZAPATA COUNTY IS CURRENTLY MOVING
SOUTHEAST AROUND 25 KT. EXTRAPOLATION RESULTS IN THE HAIL CORE
REACHING THE RIO GRANDE BETWEEN 0630-0700Z. WITH MODEST EASTERLY
LOW-LEVEL WINDS PER CORPUS CHRISTI/BROWNSVILLE VWP
DATA...SUBSTANTIAL VEERING OF THE WIND PROFILE WITH HEIGHT WILL BE
FAVORABLE FOR MAINTENANCE OF UPDRAFT ROTATION. GREATEST UNCERTAINTY
IS IN THE DEGREE OF MLCIN AND ITS SUBSEQUENT EFFECT ON THE LONGEVITY
OF THIS SUPERCELL. BUT GIVEN ITS WELL-DEVELOPED NATURE AT BASE RADAR
SCANS /WHICH ARE STILL AROUND 20000 FT AGL AT THIS TIME/...IT SEEMS
PLAUSIBLE THAT THIS SUPERCELL WILL AFFECT AT LEAST A COUPLE COUNTIES
IN DEEP SOUTH TX.

..GRAMS/GOSS.. 05/02/2016

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

ATTN...WFO...BRO...

LAT...LON   27069944 27019898 26819854 26469828 26179840 26279890
            26519927 26819947 27069944

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 1:07 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAngelina, Austin, Bastrop, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers and 30 more113 min
May 2, 2:43 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Angelina, Chambers, Cherokee, Grimes, Hardin and 22 more2 hr
May 2, 3:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAngelina, Cherokee, Grimes, Hardin, Harrison, Houston and 17 more5 hr
May 2, 5:48 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAngelina, Hardin, Houston, Jasper, Liberty, Montgomery and 10 more87 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Texas, 2016Every mesoscale discussion in 2016

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.