Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 32, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

July 30, 1995Galveston County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Jul 30, 1995, 6:08 PM CDT for Galveston County, Texas. It was in force for 27 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
Jul 30, 1995, 6:08 PM CDT (23:08 UTC)
Expired
Jul 30, 1995, 6:35 PM CDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Galveston County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 32 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:12 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 30, 6:30 PM CDTTornado F0High Island, TXTornado briefly touched down with minor damage but no injuries.

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, 11.1 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 1995-07-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 580 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 1995-07-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 139 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
580 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
628 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
139 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
103 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 302305
TORHOU
TXC167-310015-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
608 PM CDT SUN JUL 30 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...GALVESTON COUNTY
 
AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
 
AT 605 PM...RADAR INDICATED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM JUST OFFSHORE FROM
HIGH ISLAND MOVING TOWARDS THE WEST AT 25 MPH. THIS MOVEMENT WILL TAKE
THE STORM ACROSS THE BOLIVAR PENINSULA AND EAST BAY BY 7 PM.
 
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 Jul 30, 2:21 PM CDT, 3 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 30, 2:21 PM CDT, 3 hours 47 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
220 PM CDT SAT JUL 29 1995

TROPICAL DEPRESSION #4 CONTINUES TO MAKE PROGRESS TOWARD SOUTHEAST
TEXAS.  THIS WILL BE THE DOMINANT FEATURE IN THE FORECAST FOR THE
NEXT 24 TO 48 HOURS.  ETA/NGM AGREE WITH CONTINUING WESTWARD TRACK OF
THIS SYSTEM...LEAVING SE TX ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE LOW WITH
SOUTHEAST WINDS CONTINUING TO PUMP TROPICAL MOISTURE OVER THE FA.
CURRENT SATELLITE LOOP INDICATES DOMINANT CONVECTION STILL TO EAST
AND NORTH OF THE CENTER AND WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE INTO THE REGION
TONIGHT AND MONDAY.  PWS TO REMAIN 2 INCHES OR ABOVE THROUGH THE
PERIOD.  THIS WILL CONTINUE THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN THROUGH 24
HOURS.  8THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL LIKELY BE EXTENDED.  TIDES ALONG
THE COAST WILL REMAIN 3 TO 5 FEET ABOVE NORMAL DUE TO THE LONG
EASTERLY FETCH.  TEMPS LOOK REASONABLE SO WILL NOT STRAY FAR.

PRELIMS...
IAH TT 076/087 078/089 078 36+85

36/47

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 3:53 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXChambers, Galveston67 min
Jul 30, 4:58 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXGalveston62 min
Jul 30, 6:25 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXChambers65 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.