Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

January 6, 1997Brazoria County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 6, 1997, 7:48 PM CST for Brazoria County, Texas. It was in force for 27 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
Jan 6, 1997, 7:48 PM CST (01:48 UTC)
Expired
Jan 6, 1997, 8:15 PM CST
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Brazoria County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 240 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 00:00Z on 1997-01-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 1997-01-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 419 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
664 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
419 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
865 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 070146 RRA
SVRHOU
TXC039-070215-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
748 PM CST MON JAN 6 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...EASTERN BRAZORIA COUNTY
 
AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
 
 
AT 744 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 12 MILES NORTH
OF FREEPORT MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 TO 40 MPH. STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND
LARGE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. THIS STORM IS HEADING TOWARD
THE COMMUNITY OF LIVERPOOL IN EASTERN BRAZORIA COUNTY.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH...PREPARE
FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND
VERY HEAVY RAIN.  IF CAUGHT OUTSIDE... MOVE TO A SHELTER...
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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 Jan 6, 2:15 PM CST, 5 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 6, 2:15 PM CST, 5 hours 33 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
215 PM CST MON JAN 6 1997

AGREE THAT SE TX WX WILL STAY CLOUDY...WINDY AND COLD THROUGH THIS
FCST PERIOD.  WITH THE VERY IMPRESSIVE LOOKING UPPER LOW TO OUR WEST
MOVING TO THE EAST ONLY VERY SLOWY THE NEXT 48H...THE GOOD FEED OF
PACIFIC MOISTURE WITH EMBEDDED PULSES TO CONTINUE.  STRONG CAA AT THE
SFC TO ALSO CONTINUE THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS OR SO.  ANOTHER SFC
FEATURE OF NOTE IS THE DEEPENING LOW OFF THE LOWER TX COAST.  THIS
SYSTEM IS PROGGED TO MOVE TO THE NE (UP THE COAST) THRU THE PD -
AIDING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADDITIONAL SHRA/+SHRA ON WED.  GIVEN THE
GOOD DYNAMICS AND AVAILABLITY OF A DEEP LAYER OF MOISTURE...MAIN FCST
PROBLEM IS THEN THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY WINTER-TYPE PCPN.  FOR TONIGHT
/EARLY TUE MORNING...PROBABLY NOT AS THE MID LEVELS ARE PROGGED TO
REMAIN TOO WARM.  NEXT BEST CHC APPEARS TO BE TUE NIGHT/WED MORNING -
ESPECIALLY FOR THE NRN ZONES.  ATTM...WOULD LIKE TO HOLD OFF ON ANY
MENTION OF A WSW FOR SE TX AS THIS IS STILL A BIT OFF AND LET LATER
SHIFTS EVALUATE FURTHER WITH ANOTHER MODEL RUN UNDER THEIR BELTS.
HOWEVER...AM PLAYING WITH THE IDEA OF AN SPS AS A HEADS UP.  WILL
TREND TEMPS TOWARD THE SLIGHTLY WARMER FWC NUMBERS.  41

PRELIMINARIES...
CLL RX 34/36 30/37 8888
IAH RR 37/40 33/38 8888
GLS RR 40/43 37/44 7888

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 6, 6:38 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Galveston67 min
Jan 6, 8:03 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXGalveston42 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.