Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

October 15, 1989Harris County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Oct 15, 1989, 8:18 PM CDT for Harris County, Texas. It was in force for 27 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 15, 1989, 8:18 PM CDT (01:18 UTC)
Expired
Oct 15, 1989, 8:45 PM CDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Harris 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 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 184 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 00:00Z on 1989-10-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 429 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 00:00Z on 1989-10-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -11 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
429 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1220 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
7 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 
TTAA00 KHOU 160119
TORHOU
TXC201-160145-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
818 PM CDT SUN OCT 15 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
          ...HARRIS
 
TORNADO REPORTED AT I45 AT WEBSTER MOVING NW.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 15, 7:55 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXGalveston35 min
Oct 15, 8:57 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXGalveston33 min
Oct 15, 9:20 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXGalveston40 min
Oct 15, 10:06 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXHarris39 min
Oct 15, 10:24 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXChambers36 min
Oct 15, 11:55 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXChambers2 hr
Oct 16, 1:54 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXPolk66 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1989Every tornado warning in 1989Tornadoes in 1989

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.