Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 159, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

June 21, 1997Harris County, Montgomery County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 21, 1997, 7:05 PM CDT for Harris County, Montgomery County, Texas. It was in force for 55 min. 3 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 21, 1997, 7:05 PM CDT (00:05 UTC)
Expired
Jun 21, 1997, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Harris County, TX, Montgomery County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 76 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:07 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
Jun 21, 7:37 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 75Morgans Point, TX
Jun 21, 7:47 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50La Porte, TXPowerlines blown down at Sealand Marine.
Jun 21, 7:47 PM CDTHail 0.75La Porte, TXHail at Sealand Marine.

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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 320 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1997-06-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2132 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1997-06-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 79 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
2132 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-43 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1200 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
79 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
257 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
3.9

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 21, 2:59 PM CDT, 4 hours 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 21, 2:59 PM CDT, 4 hours 6 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
255 PM CDT SAT JUN 21 1997

WILL GO WITH FLASH FLOOD WATCH WEST OF MADISONVILLE...CLEVELAND...
HOUSTON...FREEPORT LINE.  OUTFLOW FROM MCS SETTING UP NE-SW
BOUNDARY ACROSS FA FOR TONIGHT.  MESOETA SHOWS POTENT INFLOW OF
MOISTURE RICH AIR THRU SUNDAY AS SYNOPTIC UPPER FEATURES STAY
VIRTUALLY STATIONARY. M-CLASS SOUNDING TAKEN AT HGX AT 18Z SHOWED
SIGNIFICANT DEEPENING OF MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER CONSISTENT WITH MODEL
FORECAST.  WOULD EXPECT SOME AREAS TO RECEIVE IN EXCESS OF 5 INCHES
OF RAINFALL OVERNIGHT.  THREAT COULD CONTINUE INTO MONDAY DEPENDING
ON WHERE BOUNDARIES END UP FROM ONGOING CONVECTION.

CLL...69/82/70/85 90/60/40/40
IAH...75/86/75/88 70/60/40/40
GLS...79/84/79/85 40/50/40/40
PSX...78/84/79/85 80/60/40/40

30

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 21, 7:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazoria, Galveston61 min
Jun 21, 7:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris31 min
Jun 21, 8:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Liberty59 min
Jun 22, 6:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMadison30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 1997Every 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.