Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 13, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

March 29, 1990Brazoria County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 29, 1990, 3:31 PM CST for Brazoria County, Texas. It was in force for 29 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 29, 1990, 3:31 PM CST (21:31 UTC)
Expired
Mar 29, 1990, 4:00 PM CST
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Brazoria 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, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 240 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 12:00Z on 1990-03-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 472 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 1990-03-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 105 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
472 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
581 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
162 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 292132
SVRHOU
TXC039-292200-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
331 PM CST THU MAR 29 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  400 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...EASTERN BRAZORIA COUNTY
 
FOR THE COASTAL WATERS ADJACENT TO MATAGORDA AND BRAZORIA COUNTIES
 
 
AT 330 PM CST THE WIND AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BEGAN GUSTING
TO 61 MPH. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.
 
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD
PREPARE 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, Mar 29, 10:53 AM CST, 4 hours 38 minutes before
TXZ047-049-037-291900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
1051 AM CST THU MAR 29 1990

...TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300PM THIS AFTERNOON FOR SOUTH
CENTRAL AND PART OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

A TORNADDO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300PM THIS AFTERNOON FOR SOUTH
CENTRAL AND PART OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS INCLUDING...WASHINGTON...AUSTIN...
COLORADO...WHARTON...MATAGORDA COUNTIES AND THE COASTAL WATERS OFF
MATAGORDA COUNTY.

THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AUSTIN...SAN ANTONIO AREA TO WEST OF CORPUS
CHRISTI WERE MOVING NORTHEAST ABOUT 25 MPH.  THESE STORMS WILL
CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AS THAY MOVE NORTHEAST AND COULD PRODUCE ISOLATED
TORNADOES.

PERSONS IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD BE PREPAIRED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD
THREATING WEATHER BE SIGHTED OR SHOULD A WARNING BE ISSUED.  STAY
TUNED FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND/OR WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Mar 29, 1:59 PM CST, 1 hour 32 minutes before
TXZ047-049-037-292100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
157 PM CST THU MAR 29 1990

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR
MATAGORDA COUNTY AND THE COASTAL WATERS UNTIL 230 PM THIS AFTERNOON...

...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300 PM THIS AFTERNOON FOR
AUSTIN...WASHINGTON...COLORADO...WHARTON... AND MATAGORDA COUNTIES OF
TEXAS AND THE COASTAL WATERS OFF MATAGORDA COUNTY...

AT 145 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN
MATAGORDA BAY MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST A 25 MILES AN HOUR.  THIS STORM
WILL EFFECT PALACIOS AND COLLEGEPORT OVER THE NEXT HOUR.  THIS IS PART
OF A BAND OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT EXTENDED FROM WEST OF EAGLE LAKE ACROSWESTERN WARTON AND MATAGORDA COUNTIES INTO THE GULF SOUTH OF PALACIOS.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WIND...AND
POSSIBLE HAIL AS THAY MOVE THROUGH THE AREA.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHE6R RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Mar 29, 3:18 PM CST, 13 minutes before
TXZ047-049-037-032-046-045-292315-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
316 PM CST THU MAR 29 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS INCLUDING THE HOUSTON METROPOLITAN AREA. THE
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM THIS THURSDAY
EVENING AND INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES...AUSTIN...BRAZOS...HOUSTON...TRINITY
...WHARTON...BRAZORIA...GRIMES...MONTGOMERY...LIBERTY...FORT
BEND...HARRIS...WALKER...MATAGORDA...AND WALLER.
THE TORNADO WATCH FOR WASHINGTON AND COLORADO EXPIRED AT 300PM.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH PART OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS INCLUDING THE HOUSTON METROPOLITAN AREA.

RADAR SHOWS A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM SURFSIDE NORTH THROUGH
THE RICHMOND/ROSENBERG AREA NEAR BELLVILLE.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE
WIND GUST IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...FUNNEL CLOUDS...A POSSIBLE TORNADOES.
THE LINE OF THUNDETSTORMS WILL MOVE EAST THROUGH SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS
AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING.

THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS MOVING SLOWLY AND SOME AREAS MAY HAVE A
PROLONGED PERIOD OF HEAVY RAIN.  FLOODING AND FLASH FLOODING IS
POSSIBLE ALONG SMALL STREAM AND IN POORLY DRAINED AREAS
.
EVERONE IN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND
BE READY TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION IF SEVERE WEATHER IS SIGHTED OR A
WARNING IS ISSUED

STAY TUNED TO YOUR RADIO...TELEVISION...OR TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR
THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 28, 10:42 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXPolk4 hr
Mar 29, 2:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMatagorda65 min
Mar 29, 3:00 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXAustin30 min
Mar 29, 3:37 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris68 min
Mar 29, 3:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Galveston105 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 1990Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1990

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.