Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 19, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

April 20, 1995Chambers County, Harris County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 20, 1995, 3:07 PM CDT for Chambers County, Harris County, Texas. It was in force for 67 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Apr 20, 1995, 3:07 PM CDT (20:07 UTC)
Expired
Apr 20, 1995, 4:14 PM CDT
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Chambers County, TX, Harris County, TX

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 20, 3:10 PM CDTTornado F0Houston, TXHam radio and storm spotters reported a tornado in the Sage Glenn subdivision (east of downtown Houston). The tornado destroyed two garages, downed large tree limbs, and knocked down fences.
Apr 20, 3:15 PM CDTTornado F0La Porte, TXThe roof of a business in La Porte was damaged by a tornado.

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 180 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 1995-04-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1413 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 1995-04-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 170 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1413 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
589 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
170 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
198 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.4
Supercell composite
9.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 202007
TORHOU
TXC071-201-202115-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
307 PM CDT THU APR 20 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  415 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...CHAMBERS COUNTY...EASTERN HARRIS COUNTY
 
AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
 
 
AT 304 PM...A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 5 MILES NORTHWEST
OF DEER PARK AT I-10. MOVEMENT WAS EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN
HOUR.  THE CITY OF MT. BELVIEU IS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO... GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROVOM ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND
MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED 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 Apr 20, 3:00 PM CDT, 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 20, 3:00 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
300 PM CDT THU APR 20 1995

FUN DAY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS. AFTER SEVERE WEATHER EPISODE EARLY
TONIGHT IT APPEARS AMS WILL BEGIN DRYING AND WEATHER  IMPROVING. LEFT
GOOD CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN EARLY TONIGHT THEN WENT WITH CLEARING
SKIES AND COOLER AND DRIER WEATHER. FRIDAY SHOULD BE DRY AND SUNNY
BUT SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL RETURN FRIDAY NIGHT AND CLOUDS WILL RETURN
SATURDAY. NEXTD CHANCE OF RAIN WILL BE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY. NOT
TIME FOR MUCH MORE.

34

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 20, 10:05 AM CDT, 5 hours 2 minutes before
TXZ198-163-199-179-178-164-197-041-051-313-202200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
1004 AM CDT THU APR 20 1995

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FROM 945 AM THIS THURDAY MORNING UNTIL 4 PM THIS
AFTERNOON.

THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA:  HOUSTON  TRINITY
BRAZOS  BURLESON  ROBERTSON  WASHINGTON  GRIMES  JASPER  MADISON
MONTGOMERY  NEWTON  POLK  SVAN JACINTO  TYLER AND WALKER.

REMEMBER,  A WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADO FORMATION.
PERSONS WITHIN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND SEEK SHELTER IF
THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
Local storm report, Apr 20, 11:07 AM CDT, 4 hours before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
1105 AM CDT THU APR 20 1995

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....   STATE    ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

944 AM     RIVERSIDE                 TX   GOLF BALL HAIL
04/20/95   WALKER                         VIL 62
Special weather statement, Apr 20, 1:40 PM CDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-238-511-513-210045-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
140 PM CDT THU APR 20 1995

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CANCELED TORNADO WATCH 232.  A NEW TORNADO
WATCH WW233 HAS BEEN ISSUED.  THE WATCH AREA INCLUDES MOST OF SOUTHEAST
TEXAS...VALID TIME IS FROM 130 PM THIS AFTERNOON UNTIL 800 PM CDT THIS
EVENING:  HOUSTON  TRINITY  AUSTIN  BRAZOS  BURLESON  COLORADO
ROBERTSON  WASHINGTON  WHARTON  BRAZORIA  CHAMBER  FORT BEND  GRIMES
HARDIN  HARRIS  JASPER  JEFFERSON  LIBERTY  MADISON  MONTGOMERY  NEWTON
 ORANGE  POLK  SAN JANCINTO  TYLER  WALKER  WALLER AND ADJACENT COASTAL
WATERS OF CHAMBERS  GALVESTON AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

REMEMBER A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE
FORMATION OF TORNADOS.  PERSONS WITHIN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD STAY ALERT
AND SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
Special weather statement, Apr 20, 2:39 PM CDT, 28 minutes before
TXZ199-212-202240-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
239 PM CDT THU APR 20 1995

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR MONTGOMERY AND WALLER COUNTIES HAS
EXPIRED.  THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER.  THE TORNADO WATCH
CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.
Special weather statement, Apr 20, 2:45 PM CDT, 22 minutes before
TXZ199-212-202015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED FOR EXPIRATION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
239 PM CDT THU APR 20 1995

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR MONTGOMERY AND WALLER COUNTIES HAS
EXPIRED.  THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER.  THE TORNADO WATCH
CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 20, 2:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazos68 min
Apr 20, 2:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXGrimes62 min
Apr 20, 9:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXTrinity68 min
Apr 20, 9:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWalker63 min
Apr 20, 11:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWalker14 min
Apr 20, 1:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMontgomery, Waller59 min
Apr 20, 2:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazoria, Harris65 min
Apr 20, 2:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk, San Jacinto60 min
Apr 20, 3:21 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXLiberty53 min
Apr 20, 3:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk, San Jacinto69 min
Apr 20, 4:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXTrinity31 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.