Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1995
Tornado Warning 24, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1995, 7:46 AM CDT for Liberty County, Texas. It was in force for 59 min. 4 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
- May 18, 1995, 7:46 AM CDT (12:46 UTC)
- Expired
- May 18, 1995, 8:45 AM CDT
- In force
- 59 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Liberty County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:47 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 8:20 AM CDT | Tornado F1 | Liberty, TX | Super cell moved across Lake Houston and intensified to form a mesocyclone as it moved into Liberty County. This super cell produced four tornadoes as it moved from west to east across the county. The third of the four tornadoes touched down in downtown Libert |
| May 18, 8:20 AM CDT | Tornado F1 | Liberty, TX | Super cell moved across Lake Houston and intensified to form a mesocyclone as it moved into Liberty County. This super cell produced four tornadoes as moved from west to east across the county. The third of the four tornadoes touched down in downtown Liberty a |
| May 18, 8:40 AM CDT | Tornado F0 | Daisetta, TX | Super cell moved across Lake Houston and intensified to form a mesocyclone as it moved into Liberty County. This super cell produced four tornadoes as it moved from west to east across the county. The third of the four tornadoes touched down in downtown Libert |
| May 18, 8:40 AM CDT | Tornado F0 | Daisetta, TX | Super cell moved across Lake Houston and intensified to form a mesocyclone as it moved into Liberty County. This super cell produced four tornadoes as moved from west to east across the county. The third of the four tornadoes touched down in downtown Liberty a |
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, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 155 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
- 1596 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -57 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 660 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 185 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 189 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.3
- Supercell composite
- 9.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHOU 181248 TORHOU TXC291-181345- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX 746 AM CDT THU MAY 18 1995 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 845 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...LIBERTY COUNTY AT 745 AM...RADAR INDICATED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES WEST OF DAYTON MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THIS PATH SHOULD TAKE THE STORM JUST NORTH OF DAYTON AND LIBERTY AND NORTH OF FM 1960. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO... SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM... SUCH AS A CLOSET OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS AND PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS WITH CUSHIONS... BLANKETS... OR PILLOWS.
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 May 18, 2:17 AM CDT, 5 hours 29 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 18, 2:17 AM CDT, 5 hours 29 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX 210 AM CDT THU MAY 18 1995 H20 VAPOR INDICATING R/R OF SPEED MAX CLIPPING THE NW ZONES AS IT LIFTS OUT TO THE NE. SURFACE AND RADAR DATA INDICATING CONVECTION FIRING NEAR THE MAIN JET AXIS OF 100 KNOTS...OBVIOUSLY PROVIDING AN EXCELLENT VENTILATOR FOR THE STORMS. WOULD ANTICIPATE SVR TO CONTINUE THROUGH MORNING AND EVEN INTO THE THIS AFTERNOON. FRONT PROGGED TO PUSH THROUGH MOST OF THE FA LATER THIS AFTERNOON. SURFACE MOISTURE REMAINS IN PLACE...BUT THE LOSS OF THE S WINDS AT 850 AS THEY BECOME MORE SW WILL HELP TO CAP OFF THE AREA FROM THE SW. BUT CONVERGENCE AT FRONT OVER THE E ZONES WILL PROBABLY BE ENOUGH TO KEEP THE POSSIBILITY OF CONVECTION OVER E ZONES THROUGH LATE THIS AFTN. AFTER THE FROPA AREA SKIES WILL CLEAR OUT QUICKLY...UNFORTUNATELY DISAGREE WITH SOME OF THE MODELS--DONT THINK THE FRONT WILL MAKE IT VERY FAR OFF SHORE. POTENT LOOKING S/W IN THE SOUTHERN STREAM MOVING INTO MEX AND SW US BY FRIDAY NIGHT WHICH SHOULD PULL THE FRONT BACK NORTH FASTER THAN CURRENT MODELS INDICATING. LOOKING LIKE FAIR CHANCE OF POPS ON SUNDAY BUT WILL WAIT TO SEE THE WHOLE MRF PACKAGE. WILL STAY WITHIN A DEGREE OR TWO OF MOS. SO MUCH FOR LAST NIGHTS FORECAST OF FROPA AT IAH AT 6 AM THIS MORNING ...JUST LIVE'N AND DIE'N BY THE MODELS. (SOUNDS LIKE THE NAME OF NEW COUNTRY SONG). 45
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 18, 4:22 AM CDT, 3 hours 24 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-511-513-181625- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX 421 AM CDT THU MAY 18 1995 A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THE COUNTIES OF AUSTIN...BRAZORIA...BRAZOS... BURLESON...CHAMBERS...COLORADO...FORT BEND...GALVESTON...GRIMES... HARRIS...HOUSTON...JACKSON...LIBERTY...MADISON...MATAGORDA... MONTGOMERY...POLK...SAN JACINTO...TRINITY...WALKER...WALLER... WASHINGTON...WHARTON...AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. CONDITIONS REMAIN FAVORABLE THROUGHOUT THE WATCH AREA DUE TO WARM AND MOIST AIR...IN ADDITION A STRONG JETSTREAM PASSING OVER THE REGION WILL INTERACT WITH AN APPROACHING PACIFIC COLD FRONT TO PRODUCE SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGHOUT THE MORNING. STORMS FROM EARLY THIS MORNING HAVE ALREADY PRODUCED GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND ONE REPORT OF A TORNADO. PERSONS IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER NEWS SOURCES FOR FURTHER WARNINGS OR STATEMENTS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 11:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Burleson | 72 min |
| May 17, 11:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazos | 68 min |
| May 18, 2:33 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazos, Burleson | 57 min |
| May 18, 2:45 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Burleson | 30 min |
| May 18, 2:54 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Madison | 66 min |
| May 18, 2:56 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Brazos | 64 min |
| May 18, 3:31 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Grimes | 33 min |
| May 18, 3:59 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Houston | 61 min |
| May 18, 4:06 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Walker | 53 min |
| May 18, 4:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | San Jacinto, Trinity | 56 min |
| May 18, 6:43 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 25 min |
| May 18, 7:35 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris, Liberty | 55 min |
| May 18, 8:35 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Liberty | 16 min |
| May 18, 1:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 54 min |
| May 18, 1:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Matagorda | 33 min |
| May 18, 2:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Liberty | 39 min |
| May 18, 2:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 29 min |
| May 18, 2:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris | 45 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.