Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 29, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

April 4, 1997Brazos County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 4, 1997, 8:41 PM CST for Brazos County, Texas. It was in force for 64 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
Apr 4, 1997, 8:41 PM CST (02:41 UTC)
Expired
Apr 4, 1997, 9:45 PM CST
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Brazos County, TX

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 4, 7:15 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 259 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 1997-04-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 13 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 1997-04-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -137 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
13 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
577 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-137 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-87 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

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 Apr 4, 8:19 PM CST, 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 4, 8:19 PM CST, 22 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
815 PM CST FRI APR 4 1997

FCSTS LOOK GOOD NOW. IF FRONT AND SQUALL LINE CONTINUE MOVING AT
PRESENT RATE THINGS COULD END EARLIER THAN EXPECTED. HOWEVER
SATELLITE INDICATES ANOTHER LINE DEVELOPING FURTHER WEST IN RESPONSE
TO UPR LVL LOW KICKING OUT OF SW TX. WILL HAVE TO WAIT A FEW HOURS
AND SEE HOW THINGS PROGRESS EASTWARD. LOOKS LIKE MAIN THREAT TONIGHT
WITH LEADING SQUALL LINE WILL BE SEVERE WEATHER WHILE THREAT FOR
HEAVY RAIN MIGHT NOT BE AS GREAT BUT WITH SATURDATED GROUND ONLY
LITTLE AMOUNT OF RAIN REQUIRED. ALSO HIGH TIDES WILL KEEP BAYOUS FROM
RUNNING OFF INTO GLS BAY INCRSG THREAT FOR HOU/GLS RGN. KEEP ALL
WATCHES UP.

34

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 4, 6:12 PM CST, 2 hours 29 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>199-210>213-226-227-235-511-050700-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
712 PM CDT FRI APR 4 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH EFFECTIVE UNTIL
1 AM FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS.  THE WATCH AREA IS MAINLY
NORTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM EDNA TO HOUSTON TO LIVINGSTON. COUNTIES
INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA INCLUDE:
AUSTIN...BRAZOS...BURLESON...COLORADO...FORT BEND...GRIMES...
HARRIS...HOUSTON...JACKSON...MADISON...MONTGOMERY...POLK...
SAN JACINTO...TRINITY...WALKER...WALLER...WASHINGTON AND WHARTON
COUNTIES INCLUDING THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.  ROBERTSON...MILAM AND
LEON COUNTIES IN CENTRAL TEXAS ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS WATCH.

A SQUALL LINE AHEAD OF A COOL FRONT IN CENTRAL TEXAS WILL CONTINUE
MOVING EASTWARD INTO AN UNSTABLE SOUTHEAST TEXAS AIRMASS TONIGHT.
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE LINE ARE CAPABLE OF REACHING SEVERE LIMITS.
THE MAIN THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE
HAIL...AND TORNADOES.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM AND TORNADO DEVELOPMENT IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THIS AREA ARE URGED TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST WEATHER
DEVELOPMENTS AND SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER SHOULD
THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH YOUR AREA.  MARINERS CAN EXPECT STRONG
SOUTHERLY WINDS IN ADVANCE OF THE COLD FRONT TO SHIFT TO THE WEST AND
NORTHWEST AS THE LINE PASSES THROUGH THE REGION.

STAY TUNED TO NOA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL OR CABLE MEDIA OUTLETS FOR
FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Apr 4, 7:13 PM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>199-210>213-226-227-235-511-050700-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
712 PM CDT FRI APR 4 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH EFFECTIVE UNTIL
1 AM FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS.  THE WATCH AREA IS MAINLY
NORTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM EDNA TO HOUSTON TO LIVINGSTON. COUNTIES
INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA INCLUDE:
AUSTIN...BRAZOS...BURLESON...COLORADO...FORT BEND...GRIMES...
HARRIS...HOUSTON...JACKSON...MADISON...MONTGOMERY...POLK...
SAN JACINTO...TRINITY...WALKER...WALLER...WASHINGTON AND WHARTON
COUNTIES INCLUDING THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.  ROBERTSON...MILAM AND
LEON COUNTIES IN CENTRAL TEXAS ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS WATCH.

A SQUALL LINE AHEAD OF A COOL FRONT IN CENTRAL TEXAS WILL CONTINUE
MOVING EASTWARD INTO AN UNSTABLE SOUTHEAST TEXAS AIRMASS TONIGHT.
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE LINE ARE CAPABLE OF REACHING SEVERE LIMITS.
THE MAIN THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE
HAIL...AND TORNADOES.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM AND TORNADO DEVELOPMENT IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THIS AREA ARE URGED TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST WEATHER
DEVELOPMENTS AND SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER SHOULD
THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH YOUR AREA.  MARINERS CAN EXPECT STRONG
SOUTHERLY WINDS IN ADVANCE OF THE COLD FRONT TO SHIFT TO THE WEST AND
NORTHWEST AS THE LINE PASSES THROUGH THE REGION.

STAY TUNED TO NOA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL OR CABLE MEDIA OUTLETS FOR
FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 4, 7:50 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXBurleson55 min
Apr 4, 10:55 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXHouston2 hr

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.