Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 20, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

November 24, 1986Polk County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Nov 24, 1986, 8:51 PM CST for Polk County, Texas. It was in force for 54 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Nov 24, 1986, 8:51 PM CST (02:51 UTC)
Expired
Nov 24, 1986, 9:45 PM CST
In force
54 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Polk 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

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 173 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 1986-11-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 30 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 1986-11-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 203 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
30 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-113 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
545 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
203 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
186 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 250251
TORHOU
TXC373-250345-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
851 PM CST MON NOV 24 1986
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  945 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES:
 
IN  TEXAS
          ..POLK

WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR ROMAYOR. THE
STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 TO 50 MILES AN HOUR. ON THIS PATH
THE STORM WILL PASS NEAR CAMP RUBY BY 915 PM.
 
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.
 
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, Nov 24, 7:10 PM CST, 1 hour 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GALVESTON TX
710 PM CST MON NOV 24 1986

 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST
 TEXAS... INCLUDING GALVESTON AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES. THE WATCH
 EXPIRES AT MIDNIGHT.

 ...A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT TONIGHT.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING WEST AND NORTH OF GALVESTON...
AND OVER THE COASTAL WATERS.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP WELL INTO THE NIGHT.

A STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM IS APPROACHING FROM THE WEST.

THE THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL
PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL... SINCE THE GROUND IS ALREADY SATURATED
FROM THE HEAVY RAINS OF THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS... ANY ADDITIONAL
HEAVY RAINFALL WILL NOT RUN OFF BUT WILL POOL IN LOW LYING AREAS AND
ALONG FEEDER ROADS AND UNDERPASSES. MOTORISTS SHOULD EXERCISE
EXTREME CAUTION AND SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO WATER WHERE THE DEPTH OF
THE WATER IN NOT KNOWN.

STAY TUNED FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Nov 24, 7:12 PM CST, 1 hour 39 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GALVESTON TX
710 PM CST MON NOV 24 1986

 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST
 TEXAS... INCLUDING GALVESTON AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES. THE WATCH
 EXPIRES AT MIDNIGHT.

 ...A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT TONIGHT.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING WEST AND NORTH OF GALVESTON...
AND OVER THE COASTAL WATERS.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP WELL INTO THE NIGHT.

A STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM IS APPROACHING FROM THE WEST.

THE THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL
PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL... SINCE THE GROUND IS ALREADY SATURATED
FROM THE HEAVY RAINS OF THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS... ANY ADDITIONAL
HEAVY RAINFALL WILL NOT RUN OFF BUT WILL POOL IN LOW LYING AREAS AND
ALONG FEEDER ROADS AND UNDERPASSES. MOTORISTS SHOULD EXERCISE
EXTREME CAUTION AND SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO WATER WHERE THE DEPTH OF
THE WATER IN NOT KNOWN.

STAY TUNED FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Nov 24, 8:26 PM CST, 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GALVESTON TX
825 PM CST MON NOV 24 1986

 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST
 TEXAS... INCLUDING GALVESTON AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES. THE WATCH
 EXPIRES AT MIDNIGHT.

 ...A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT TONIGHT.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING FROM FREEPORT TO NEAR SANTA FE
AND FROM NEAR LA MARQUE TO KEMAH.

NO SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS...
HOWEVER THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.
SINCE THE GROUND IS ALREADY SATURATED FROM THE HEAVY RAINS OF THE
PAST COUPLE OF DAYS... ANY ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL WILL NOT RUN OFF
BUT WILL POOL IN LOW LYING AREAS AND ALONG FEEDER ROADS AND
UNDERPASSES.

MOTORISTS SHOULD EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION AND SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO
WATER WHERE THE DEPTH OF THE WATER IN NOT KNOWN.

STAY TUNED FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.


The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 24, 6:17 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWashington58 min
Nov 24, 10:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Galveston105 min
Nov 25, 2:40 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXBrazoria, Harris80 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.