Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1994
Tornado Warning 22, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Oct 17, 1994, 7:20 AM CDT for Chambers County, Texas. It was in force for 40 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 17, 1994, 7:20 AM CDT (12:20 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 17, 1994, 8:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 40 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Chambers County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:21 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
The nearest sounding before it
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 149 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
- 9 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -145 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 530 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 60 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 326 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 424 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHOU 171222 TORHOU TXC071-171300- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX 720 AM CDT MON OCT 17 1994 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...CHAMBERS COUNTY AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS AT 715 AM... RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO EAST OF BAYTOWN ALONG THE TRINITY BAY SHORELINE MOVING NORTHEAST TOWARDS HANKAMER. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ... GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REI NFORCED BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
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.
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Oct 17, 3:21 AM CDT, 3 hours 59 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 17, 3:21 AM CDT, 3 hours 59 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON, TX 320 AM CDT MON OCT 17 1994 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL EVENT OVERNIGHT FROM MCS (>10 INCHES AT CLL) HAS CAUSED SIGNIFICANT STREET FLOODING AND RIVER RISES ACROSS SE TX MAINLY N OF A LINE FROM AUSTIN TO LIBERTY COUNTIES. SYNOPTIC PATTERN INDICATES A CONTINUING CHC FOR VERY HEAVY RAINS ACROSS ALMOST ALL OF FA THROUGH TUES AS THE CDFNT REMAINS TO OUR W AND GULF INFLOW REMAINS HIGH. MID/UPR LVL IMPULSES WILL CONTINUE TO RIDE NEWD TWD SE TX ALG SUBTROPICAL JET. THROUGH COORDINATION WITH SAT...FFA WILL BE ISSUED FOR ALL OF SE TX EXCEPT FOR MATAGORDA AND JACKSON COUNTIES. INCLUDED IN THE ZONES WILL BE A MENTION FOR SOME TSTMS PSBLY SVR PER LATEST 94O. AGREE WITH LATEST 94Q AND 94E...WILL CALL FOR LOCALLY HVY RAIN TOO. CONCERN DOES GROW ON TUES INTO TUES NIGHT AS CDFNT GETS CLOSER TO SE TX AND MORE FAVORABLE JET DYNAMICS APPROACH THE REGION LEADING TWD HIGHER POTENTIAL FOR S VR. 98O LOOKS GOOD FOR NOW. IAH TT 083/075 083/073 083 42756 42
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 7:01 AM CDT, 19 minutes before
TXZ164-177>179-195>200-211>214-227-237-238-171300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX 701 AM CDT MON OCT 17 1994 THE TORNADO WATCH ISSUED OVERNIGHT FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS EXPIRED AT 7 AM. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME CONTAINING VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING CONTINUE OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THESE RAINS ARE OCCURRING OVER AREAS THAT HAVE RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL AMOUNTS SINCE YESTERDAY RESULTING IN A CONTINUING THREAT OF FLOODING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER WEATHER NEWS SOURCES FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THIS CONTINUING WEATHER THREAT.
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 7:03 AM CDT, 17 minutes before
TXZ164-177>179-195>200-211>214-227-237-238-171300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX 701 AM CDT MON OCT 17 1994 THE TORNADO WATCH ISSUED OVERNIGHT FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS EXPIRED AT 7 AM. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME CONTAINING VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING CONTINUE OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THESE RAINS ARE OCCURRING OVER AREAS THAT HAVE RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL AMOUNTS SINCE YESTERDAY RESULTING IN A CONTINUING THREAT OF FLOODING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER WEATHER NEWS SOURCES FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THIS CONTINUING WEATHER THREAT.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 16, 11:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris, Waller | 68 min |
| Oct 17, 12:06 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 69 min |
| Oct 17, 12:06 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Harris | 39 min |
| Oct 17, 1:01 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto | 3 hr |
| Oct 17, 1:01 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Austin, Waller, Washington | 3 hr |
| Oct 17, 1:01 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazos, Burleson | 3 hr |
| Oct 17, 1:01 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Trinity, Walker | 3 hr |
| Oct 17, 1:01 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Madison | 3 hr |
| Oct 17, 1:45 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Austin, Waller, Washington | 2 hr |
| Oct 17, 1:45 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazos, Burleson | 2 hr |
| Oct 17, 1:45 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Liberty, Polk | 2 hr |
| Oct 17, 1:45 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Harris | 2 hr |
| Oct 17, 1:45 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Grimes, Madison, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Trinity, Walker | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes in 1994
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.