(a) The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS or the department) and the National Weather Service (NWS) have entered into a cooperative program of tornado and severe weather warnings. National Weather Service forecasts for general areas where severe weather or tornadoes may develop are transmitted to DPS offices in the forecast area and to the emergency operations center in the department state headquarters. Department personnel, local police agencies, and local officials are notified to be on the alert should conditions become threatening. When suspicious cloud formations appear on the NWS radar, the NWS will request the department to make visual observations at the location indicated and report the findings of the observer to the NWS through established communications channels. This request for visual observation will be made to the nearest department office. When the visual observation corroborates the radar finding that severe weather exists, an appropriate warning is issued by the NWS to local officials in all communities in the affected area.
(b) When the NWS requests visual observation of a suspected severe weather area, department personnel involved will comply with the request and report findings. On occasions when no severe weather forecast has been issued nor a sighting made on radar, and locally severe storms (damaging hail, high winds, flash floods, or tornado) occur in an area or community, it is the responsibility of the department personnel to report such occurrences to state headquarters as soon as practicable through proper channels and by the most expeditious means of communications. Address this information to the regional commander, highway patrol captain, and state and district coordinators in the region and district where such weather occurred. The message shall contain, as a minimum, the following:
  (1) kind of storm;
  (2) location;
  (3) number of casualties and fatalities, if any;
  (4) extent of damage with special reference to schools, hospitals, public utilities, and public property; and
  (5) action being taken.

Source Note: The provisions of this §9.2 adopted to be effective January 1, 1976; amended to be effective November 12, 2013, 38 TexReg 7972