Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 243, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Dec 23, 1997, 3:32 PM CST for Austin County, Colorado County, Texas. It was in force for 58 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
- Dec 23, 1997, 3:32 PM CST (21:32 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 23, 1997, 4:30 PM CST
- In force
- 58 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Austin County, TX, Colorado County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:35 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 23, 3:32 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind | Weimar, TX | Trees, sheds, and powerlines blown down across the county (Weimar, Columbus, Eagle Lake). |
| Dec 23, 3:58 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind | New Ulm, TX | Trees blown down along FM 109. |
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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 23, 2:30 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 243 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1707 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -25 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 486 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 135 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 248 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.7
- Supercell composite
- 7.8
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 Dec 23, 2:39 PM CST, 53 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 2:39 PM CST, 53 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 235 PM CST TUE DEC 23 1997 BUSY MORNING TURNING INTO A BUSY AFTN(AND EVENING) WITH CONVECTION BE- GINING TO GO HAYWIRE TO OUR W. WITHOUT MUCH ADO... WOULD LIKE TO CON- TINUE WITH THE MENTION OF HVY RAIN/SVR WX FOR TONIGHT. DYNAMICS QUITE IMPRESSIVE AS THE UPPER LOW SWINGS AROUND WITH THE PACIFIC COLD FRONT. THE WARM FRONT JUST TO OUR S HAS NOT MOVED ALL THAT MUCH THIS AFTN AND THERE IS SOME CONCERN AS TO WHAT IS GOING TO DO. OUT AHEAD OF THE WARM FRONT, PATCHY DENSE FOG DEVELOPING AND IN LIEU OF AN ADVISORY WITH ALL OF THE OTHER ACITIVTY GOING ON WILL COVER THIS IN OUR NOWCASTS. AFTER THIS SYSTEM WE ARE LOOKING AT ANOTHER VERY SIMILAR LOOKING TYPE SYSTEM SET TO COME THRU SC/SE TX ON SATURDAY ALONG THAT OLD EL NINO WX-MAKING CONVEYOR BELT. ;) WILL GO WITH A BLEND OF GUIDANCE FOR TEMPS. 41 PRELIMS... CLL C/>B B/B 43/60 38/64 +000 IAH C/>B B/B 45/63 39/65 +000 GLS C/>B B/B 56/63 46/66 +000 *FFA AND SVR TONIGHT ALL ZONES
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Dec 23, 10:58 AM CST, 4 hours 34 minutes before
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</html>Special weather statement, Dec 23, 11:00 AM CST, 4 hours 32 minutes before
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</html>Special weather statement, Dec 23, 1:55 PM CST, 1 hour 37 minutes before
TXZ211-237-210-227-198-213-200-511-236-199-179-178-164-177-212- 197-226-196-195-214-238-235-240200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 155 PM CST TUE DEC 23 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR A LARGE PORTION OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 800 PM. THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE INCLUDED IN THIS TORNADO WATCH: BURLESON...BRAZOS...WASHINGTON...GRIMES...WALKER...TRINITY...COLORADO... AUSTIN...WALLER...MONTGOMERY...SAN JACINTO...POLK...JACKSON...FORT BEND...WHARTON...HARRIS...LIBERTY...MATAGORDA...BRAZORIA...GALVESTON... CHAMBERS...AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS AS A STRONG UPPER LOW PRESSURE PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACHETHE REGION FROM THE WEST. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS TO RAPIDLY BECOME SEVERE. THE GREATEST THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORNADOES. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IN THE WESTERN COUNTIES WEST OF A LINE FROM EDNA TO COLUMBUS TO BRENHAM WILL BE AS EARLAS 300 PM...AND OVER THE REMAINDER OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS BETWEEN 500 PM AND 700 PM. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS ON THIS DEVELOPING DANGEROUS SEVERE WEATHER THREAT.
Special weather statement, Dec 23, 2:01 PM CST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
TXZ211-237-210-227-198-213-200-511-236-199-179-178-164-177-212- 197-226-196-195-214-238-235-240200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 155 PM CST TUE DEC 23 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR A LARGE PORTION OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 800 PM. THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE INCLUDED IN THIS TORNADO WATCH: BURLESON...BRAZOS...WASHINGTON...GRIMES...WALKER...TRINITY...COLORADO... AUSTIN...WALLER...MONTGOMERY...SAN JACINTO...POLK...JACKSON...FORT BEND...WHARTON...HARRIS...LIBERTY...MATAGORDA...BRAZORIA...GALVESTON... CHAMBERS...AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS AS A STRONG UPPER LOW PRESSURE PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACHES THE REGION FROM THE WEST. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS TO RAPIDLY BECOME SEVERE. THE GREATEST THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORNADOES. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IN THE WESTERN COUNTIES WEST OF A LINE FROM EDNA TO COLUMBUS TO BRENHAM WILL BE AS EARLY AS 300 PM...AND OVER THE REMAINDER OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS BETWEEN 500 PM AND 700 PM. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS ON THIS DEVELOPING DANGEROUS SEVERE WEATHER THREAT.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 23, 1:19 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Chambers | 61 min |
| Dec 23, 9:16 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Burleson | 44 min |
| Dec 23, 3:32 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Burleson, Washington | 58 min |
| Dec 23, 4:07 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Grimes, Waller | 53 min |
| Dec 23, 4:19 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery, Walker | 56 min |
| Dec 23, 4:27 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris | 63 min |
| Dec 23, 4:33 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Fort Bend, Wharton | 57 min |
| Dec 23, 5:00 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | San Jacinto | 60 min |
| Dec 23, 5:12 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 63 min |
| Dec 23, 5:16 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Liberty, Polk | 59 min |
| Dec 23, 5:16 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Chambers, Galveston, Harris | 59 min |
| Dec 23, 5:16 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 59 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.