Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

August 11, 1986Fort Bend County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Aug 11, 1986, 1:44 PM CDT for Fort Bend County, Texas. It was in force for 61 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 11, 1986, 1:44 PM CDT (18:44 UTC)
Expired
Aug 11, 1986, 2:45 PM CDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Fort Bend County, TX

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Victoria Regiona, TX (KVCT), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 133 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, Victoria Regiona, TX at 12:00Z on 1986-08-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1889 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, Victoria Regiona, TX at 12:00Z on 1986-08-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -69 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1889 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
682 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-69 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-27 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAAOO KHOU 111844
TORHOU
TXC157-111945-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
144 PM CDT MON AUG 11 1986
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  245 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES:
 
IN  TEXAS
          ..FORT BEND

DPS REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND MOVING NORTH.
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. IF INSIDE, GO TO
AN INTERIOR ROOM TO AVOID WINDOWS. ABONDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR
A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN
THE PATH OF A TORNADO, LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF
NO STRUCTURE IS NEARBY, SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.
 
IF YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT, SEEK SHELTER IN THE INNERMOST PORTION
OF THE BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. AVOID WINDOWS AND PROTECT YOUR
BODY WITH CUSHIONS, BLANKETS OR PILLOWS.
 
STAY TUNED TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR MORE
INFORMATION ON THIS DANGEROUS STORM.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 11, 10:45 AM CDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GALVESTON TX
1045 AM CDT MON AUG 11 1986

 ...FUNNEL CLOUDS SIGHTED ALONG HIGHWAY 2004 SOUTH OF CHOCALATE
BAYOU...

AT 1030 AM CDT... A VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORM WAS OCCURRING 10 MILES
NORTH OF JASPER.

MOVEMENT WAS WEST AT 5 MILES AN HOUR.

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND VERY HEAVY THUNDERSHOWERS WERE OCCURRING ACROSS
SOUTHEAST TEXAS...SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND THE NORTHWEST GULF FROM
COLLEGE STATION TO WHITE LAKE TO 100 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GALVESTON.

THE HEAVIEST ACTIVITY WAS LOCATED 15 MILES NORTH OF EAGLE LAKE...FROM
LIBERTY TO GOODRICH...NEAR SABINE...AND 25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
GALVESTON.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHWEST AT 5 MILES AN HOUR.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 10, 9:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk55 min
Aug 11, 2:12 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXGalveston76 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes in 1986

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.