Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 28, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

September 27, 1996Chambers County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Sep 27, 1996, 12:09 PM CDT for Chambers County, Texas. It was in force for 66 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 27, 1996, 12:09 PM CDT (17:09 UTC)
Expired
Sep 27, 1996, 1:15 PM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Chambers County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 5.2 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 1996-09-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1499 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 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 1996-09-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 164 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 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
1499 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
581 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
164 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
182 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
4.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 271709
TORHOU
TXC071-271815-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
1209 PM CDT FRI SEP 27 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  115 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...CHAMBERS COUNTY
 
AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
 
 
AT 1202 PM...RADAR INDICATED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM OVER TRINITY BAY.
THIS STORM WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. ANAUHAC 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 ROOM ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CAJRS 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 Sep 27, 10:05 AM CDT, 2 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 27, 10:05 AM CDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1005 AM CDT FRI SEP 27 1996

MASSIVE AFOS PROBLEMS AND VERY LIMITED DATA TO WORK WITH.

COLD FRONT MOVING THRU SE TX THIS MORNING WITH PRE-FRONTAL ACTIVITY
SPURRED BY WEAK DISTURBANCES IN THE UPPER FLOW KEEPING THINGS BUSY.
EXPECT ALL THIS STUFF TO MOVE OFFSHORE BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON - AOA
3 TO 4 PM.  (WE HOPE!) :O

TO ALL USERS OF KHGX RADAR PRECIP ESTIMATES, WE ARE UNDERESTIMATING
BY 50%.  BUYER BEWARE!!!

41

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 27, 6:35 AM CDT, 5 hours 34 minutes before
TXZ199-200-210-211-213-214-226-227-237-238-271720-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
624 AM CDT FRI SEP 27 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH EFFECTIVE
UNTIL 1 PM FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS:
AUSTIN...BRAZORIA...COLORADO...MONTGOMERY...WHARTON...LIBERTY...
CHAMBERS...HARRIS...FORTBEND...AND GALVESTON COUNTIES INCLUDING
ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.

AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE COMBINED WITH A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH
SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS MORNING WILL PRODUCE AN
ENVIRONMENT WHERE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS LIKELY.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE
AND TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA.  PERSONS IN
THIS AREA ARE URGED TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS AND BE
PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER APPROACH THE AREA.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER UPDATES.
Special weather statement, Sep 27, 6:38 AM CDT, 5 hours 31 minutes before
TXZ199-200-210>214-226-227-237-238-271720-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
635 AM CDT FRI SEP 27 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH EFFECTIVE
UNTIL 1 PM FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS:
AUSTIN...BRAZORIA...COLORADO...MONTGOMERY...WHARTON...LIBERTY...
CHAMBERS...HARRIS...WALLER...FORT BEND...AND GALVESTON COUNTIES
INCLUDING ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.

AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE COMBINED WITH A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH
SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS MORNING WILL PRODUCE AN
ENVIRONMENT WHERE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS LIKELY.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE
AND TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA.  PERSONS IN
THIS AREA ARE URGED TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS AND BE
PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER APPROACH THE AREA.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER UPDATES.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 26, 8:02 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXMadison3 hr
Sep 26, 9:01 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXHouston119 min
Sep 26, 10:32 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXTrinity58 min
Sep 26, 10:57 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXHouston, Madison, Trinity2 hr
Sep 26, 11:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk57 min
Sep 27, 12:11 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk, San Jacinto64 min
Sep 27, 1:12 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXSan Jacinto, Walker3 hr
Sep 27, 1:12 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXPolk3 hr
Sep 27, 4:03 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXLiberty, San Jacinto57 min
Sep 27, 4:20 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXPolk, San Jacinto115 min
Sep 27, 4:38 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXMontgomery3 hr
Sep 27, 4:50 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXLiberty3 hr
Sep 27, 5:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXLiberty, Montgomery55 min
Sep 27, 5:54 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXLiberty, Montgomery66 min
Sep 27, 6:15 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXPolk, San Jacinto105 min
Sep 27, 6:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris66 min
Sep 27, 6:50 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXHarris, Montgomery3 hr
Sep 27, 6:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXLiberty65 min
Sep 27, 7:54 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXLiberty3 hr
Sep 27, 9:38 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXLiberty67 min
Sep 27, 9:47 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXHarris, Montgomery3 hr
Sep 27, 9:56 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXChambers, Galveston64 min
Sep 27, 10:33 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXLiberty4 hr
Sep 27, 12:20 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXChambers, Harris4 hr
Sep 27, 1:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Galveston48 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996

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.