Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

January 12, 1995Montgomery County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Jan 12, 1995, 9:07 PM CST for Montgomery County, Texas. It was in force for 68 min. 1 report 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
Jan 12, 1995, 9:07 PM CST (03:07 UTC)
Expired
Jan 12, 1995, 10:15 PM CST
In force
68 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Montgomery County, TX

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 12, 9:30 PM CSTTornado F0Near Woodlands, TXTornado briefly touched down east of the Woodlands killing one horse and doing minor damage to barn.

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 00:00Z, 3.1 hours before the alert went out and 222 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 00:00Z on 1995-01-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1371 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 00:00Z on 1995-01-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 113 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
1371 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
719 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
113 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
97 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
3.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 130312
TORHOU
TXC339-130415-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
907 PM CST THU JAN 12 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...MONTGOMERY COUNTY
 
AT 910 PM RADAR INDICATED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTH OF THE
WOODLANDS ON THE HARRIS-MONTGOMERY COUNTY LINE. THIS STORM IS MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
 
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... BLANKETS8... 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 Jan 12, 8:02 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 12, 8:02 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
800 PM CST THU JAN 12 1995

HEAVY RAIN AND SEVERE/TORNADIC STORMS RAGING OVER SETX THIS EVENING.
FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT AND SHOULD!  STORMS AROUND OUTFLOW
BOUNDARY IN SOUTHWEST FA EXIBITING DEEP STRONG MESOCYCLONE STRUCTURES.
IN ADDITION LINE OF CELLS MOVING IN FROM THE GULF AHEAD OF FRONT AND ALONG
THETAE RIDGE AXIS WILL ARRIVE OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN ZONES IN CONNJUNCTION
WITH JET MAX OVER SOUTH TEX ATTM EXPECT TORNADIC/SEVERE ENVIORN (CRP LI-9)
TO PERSIST.  COORDINATED WITH SELS AND SAT ON EXTENDING/LOCATING NEW TORNADO
WATCH.   BACK TO THE MADHOUSE.

45

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 12, 4:05 PM CST, 5 hours 2 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>199-210>212-132315-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
405 PM CST THU JAN 12 1995

TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR HARRIS...BRAZORIA...CHAMBERS...FORT BEND
GALVESTON...LIBERTY...MATAGORDA...MONTGOMERY...POLK...SAN JACINTO...WALLER
WHARTON...JACKSON...COLORADO...AND AUSTIN COUNTIES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL
1000 PM TONIGHT. TORNADO WATCHS NOW INCLUDE SOUTHEAST TEXAS GENERALLY WEST
OF A LINE HIGH ISLAND LUFKIN...INCLUDING THE HOUSTON...GALVESTON AREA.

CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS SOME POSSIBLE
SEVERE IN THE AREA THIS EVENING.  THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALREADY FORMING OVER
WESTERN AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA AND SHOULD CONTINUE TO DEVELOP
AND SPREAD TO THE EAST DURING THE EVENING.

STAY TUNED FOR LATER INFORMATION ON THIS FAST DEVELOPING WEATHER EVENT.
Special weather statement, Jan 12, 4:09 PM CST, 4 hours 58 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>199-210>212-132315-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
405 PM CST THU JAN 12 1995

TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR HARRIS...BRAZORIA...CHAMBERS...FORT BEND
GALVESTON...LIBERTY...MATAGORDA...MONTGOMERY...POLK...SAN JACINTO...WALLER
WHARTON...JACKSON...COLORADO...AND AUSTIN COUNTIES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL
1000 PM TONIGHT. TORNADO WATCHS NOW INCLUDE SOUTHEAST TEXAS GENERALLY WEST
OF A LINE HIGH ISLAND LUFKIN...INCLUDING THE HOUSTON...GALVESTON AREA.

CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS SOME POSSIBLE
SEVERE IN THE AREA THIS EVENING.  THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALREADY FORMING OVER
WESTERN AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA AND SHOULD CONTINUE TO DEVELOP
AND SPREAD TO THE EAST DURING THE EVENING.

STAY TUNED FOR LATER INFORMATION ON THIS FAST DEVELOPING WEATHER EVENT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 12, 6:46 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXColorado59 min
Jan 12, 7:28 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXAustin62 min
Jan 12, 7:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXFort Bend59 min
Jan 12, 8:03 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWaller57 min
Jan 12, 8:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris65 min
Jan 12, 9:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXFort Bend, Harris61 min
Jan 12, 9:33 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazoria, Galveston57 min
Jan 12, 10:07 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Harris68 min
Jan 12, 10:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Galveston65 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.