Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 138, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

June 17, 19974 counties in Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 17, 1997, 7:26 AM CDT for 4 counties in Texas. It was in force for 64 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: Jun 17, 1997, 7:26 AM CDT (12:26 UTC)
Expired: Jun 17, 1997, 8:30 AM CDT
In force: 64 min
Issued by: NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area: Whole counties

Counties Austin County, TX, Grimes County, TX, Waller County, TX, Washington County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 130 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:25 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
Jun 17, 7:45 AM CDT	Hail 0.75	Stoneham, TX
Jun 17, 8:00 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Plantersville, TX	Numerous large branches blown down.

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.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 285 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 3576 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 642 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 111 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.9
Supercell composite: 12.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jun 17, 1:53 AM CDT, 5 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 17, 1:53 AM CDT, 5 hours 33 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 17, 6:30 AM CDT, 56 minutes before

TXZ163-164-177>179-199-200-171635-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
631 AM CDT TUE JUN 17 1997

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS
UNTIL NOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS
OF SOUTHEST TEXAS THIS MORNING UNTIL NOON.  THE COUNTIES IN THE
WATCH INCLUDE: HOUSTON...TRINITY...LIBERTY...POLK...MONTGOMERY...SAN
JACINTO AND WALKER.

A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE CONTINUED TO MOVE INTO THE VERY
WARM MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE REGION.  ADDITIONAL
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS LIKELY LATER THIS MORNING AS HEATING
FURTHER DESTABILIZES THE ATMOSPHERE.  WINDS SHEARS DO INDICATE
THE POSSIBILITY OF ISOLATED TORNADOES.  HOWEVER...THE MAIN SEVERE
WEATHER THREAT SHOULD BE FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT PRODUCE
STRONG DAMAGING WINDS WHICH COULD KNOCK DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION
FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS SEVERE WEATHER
SITUATION.

Special weather statement, Jun 17, 6:31 AM CDT, 55 minutes before

TXZ163-164-177>179-199-200-171635-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
631 AM CDT TUE JUN 17 1997

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS
UNTIL NOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS
OF SOUTHEST TEXAS THIS MORNING UNTIL NOON.  THE COUNTIES IN THE
WATCH INCLUDE: HOUSTON...TRINITY...LIBERTY...POLK...MONTGOMERY...SAN
JACINTO AND WALKER.

A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE CONTINUED TO MOVE INTO THE VERY
WARM MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE REGION.  ADDITIONAL
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS LIKELY LATER THIS MORNING AS HEATING
FURTHER DESTABILIZES THE ATMOSPHERE.  WINDS SHEARS DO INDICATE
THE POSSIBILITY OF ISOLATED TORNADOES.  HOWEVER...THE MAIN SEVERE
WEATHER THREAT SHOULD BE FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT PRODUCE
STRONG DAMAGING WINDS WHICH COULD KNOCK DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION
FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS SEVERE WEATHER
SITUATION.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 17, 5:28 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Madison	62 min
Jun 17, 5:38 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Houston	22 min
Jun 17, 5:52 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Trinity	68 min
Jun 17, 6:14 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Polk	61 min
Jun 17, 7:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Harris, Montgomery	59 min
Jun 17, 8:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Polk	36 min
Jun 17, 8:43 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto	62 min
Jun 17, 9:08 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Burleson, Washington	67 min
Jun 17, 10:05 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Austin, Washington	55 min
Jun 17, 10:19 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Montgomery, Waller	56 min
Jun 17, 10:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Austin, Colorado	59 min
Jun 17, 11:18 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Harris	57 min
Jun 17, 11:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Austin, Colorado	66 min
Jun 17, 11:52 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Harris	68 min
Jun 17, 12:13 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Chambers	62 min
Jun 17, 12:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Galveston	56 min
Jun 17, 12:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Brazoria	63 min
Jun 17, 1:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Chambers, Galveston	67 min
Jun 17, 6:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Wharton	66 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 1997 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

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.