Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 21, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Nov 19, 1988, 2:39 PM CST for Polk County, Texas. It was in force for 51 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Nov 19, 1988, 2:39 PM CST (20:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 19, 1988, 3:30 PM CST
- In force
- 51 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 12:00Z, 8.7 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1606 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 509 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 111 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 126 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.1
- Supercell composite
- 5.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KHOU 192039 RRA
SVRHOU
TXC373-192130-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
239 PM CST SAT NOV 19 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 330 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
...POLK
AT 238 PM CST RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER THE SOUTHERN
TIP OF LAKE LIVINGSTON. THIS STORM IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.
DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL SHOULD BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
BOATERS ON LAKE LIVINGSTON SHOULD HEAD FOR THE CLOSEST SHORELINE
IMMEDIATELY.
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD
PWREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND
DEADLY LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 19, 11:42 AM CST, 2 hours 57 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX 1140 AM CST SAT NOV 19 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR HOUSTON AND SOUROUNDING AREA... THE NATIONAL SEVERE STORMS FORECST CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CST FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND PART SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. THE WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES SOUTH OF HOUSTON TO 60 MILES NORTHEAST OF TEXARKANA AND INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN THE HOUSTON AREA. HOUSTON...TRINITY...AUSTIN...COLORADO...WASHINGTON...WHARTON...BRAZORIA... FORT BEND...GRIMES...HARRIS...LIBERTY...MATAGORDA...MONTGOMERY...POLK... SAN JACINTO...WALKER...AND WALLER. EVERYONE IN OR NEAR THE WATCH AREA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWS THAT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE INCREASING THIS MORNING OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE AND MAY PRODUCE TORNADOES THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. STATEMENTS AND WARNINGS WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AS THIS DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION DEVELOPS. STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATION OR TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.
Special weather statement, Nov 19, 11:49 AM CST, 2 hours 50 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GALVESTON TX 1150 AM CST SAT NOV 19 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR GALVESTON AND SOUROUNDING AREA... THE NATIONAL SEVERE STORMS FORECST CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FROM NOON UNTIL 7 PM CST FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND PART SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. THE WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES SOUTH OF HOUSTON TO 60 MILES NORTHEAST OF TEXARKANA AND INCLUDES GALVESTON AND CHAMBERS COUNTIES... GALVESTON BAY AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. EVERYONE IN OR NEAR THE WATCH AREA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWS THAT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE INCREASING OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE AND MAY PRODUCE TORNADOES THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. STATEMENTS AND WARNINGS WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AS THIS DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION DEVELOPS. STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATION OR TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.
Special weather statement, Nov 19, 1:37 PM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX 140 PM CST SAT NOV 19 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR HOUSTON AND SOUROUNDING AREA... A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CST FOR HOUSTON AND THE SOUROUNDING AREA. THE WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES SOUTH OF HOUSTON TO 60 MILES NORTHEAST OF TEXARKANA AND INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING SOUTH AND EAST TEXAS COUNTIES. HOUSTON...TRINITY...AUSTIN...COLORADO...WASHINGTON...WHARTON...BRAZORIA... FORT BEND...GRIMES...HARRIS...LIBERTY...MATAGORDA...MONTGOMERY...POLK... SAN JACINTO...WALKER...AND WALLER. EVERYONE IN OR NEAR THE WATCH AREA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER. WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWS THAT THUNDERSTORMS ARE INCREASING OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE AND COULD PRODUCE A FEW TORNADOES THIS AFTERNOON AND STATEMENTS AND WARNINGS WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AS THIS DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION DEVELOPS. STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATION OR TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.
Special weather statement, Nov 19, 2:16 PM CST, 23 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX 215 PM CST SAT NOV 19 1988 ...COLD FRONT WILL CAUSE STRONG GUSTY ACROSS EAST TEXAS LAKES... A STRONG COLD FRONT IS APPROACHING LAKE LIVINGSTON...HOUSTON COUNTY LAKE AND LAKE CONROE. WIND WILL SHIFT RAPIDLY TO THE NORTHWEST WITH GUST TO NEAR 50 MPH AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. BOATERS ON LAKE LIVINGSTON...HOUSTON COUNTY LAKE...LAKE CONROE AND OTHER LAKES IN THE AREA SHOULD HEAD FOR SAFE HARBOR IMMEDIATELY. A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND PART OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS UNTIL 7 PM CST. RADAR SHOWS THAT THE COLD FRONT IS TRIGGERING NUMEROUS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA SOME OF THE MAY BECOME SEVERE AND COULD PRODUCE A A FEW TORNADOES THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. STATEMENT AND WARNINGS WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AS THIS DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION DEVELOPS. STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL RHADIO OR TELEVISION STATION OR TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 1988Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1988
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.