Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 62, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

April 25, 1997Polk County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 25, 1997, 5:56 PM CDT for Polk 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 25, 1997, 5:56 PM CDT (22:56 UTC)
Expired
Apr 25, 1997, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Polk County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 149 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:00 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 173 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 12:00Z on 1997-04-25Temperature 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 12:00Z on 1997-04-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 131 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
1388 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
131 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
472 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.4

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 25, 2:22 PM CDT, 3 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 25, 2:22 PM CDT, 3 hours 34 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
220 PM CDT FRI APR 25 1997

NOTHING TO BE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT NEXT 48-60H.  CUT OFF LOW SETTLING
STRAIGHT SOUTH INTO OLD MEXICO THIS AFTERNOON.  WARM FRONT NOT LIKELY
TO MOVE MUCH FURTHER NORTH THAN OVER OUR COUNTIES. STRONG MERIDIONAL
FLOW ACROSS WESTERN GULF AND EASTERN TEXAS WILL PROVIDE FUEL FOR
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.  MODELS SHOW IMPULSES
MOVING ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS EVENING...SATURDAY AND LATE
SATURDAY NIGHT.  EVEN WITHOUT THIS ADDED FOCUS...STRONG LIFTING OVER
EAST-WEST WARM FRONT CONTINUES TO TO PRODUCE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS.
SEVERE POTENTIAL EXISTS ALSO...GOLF BALL HAIL ALREADY REPORTED TODAY.
SHEAR MAXIMIZED ALONG FRONTAL ZONE WILL GIVE POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES.
GIVEN PROLONGED NATURE OF EVENT ALONG WITH ALREADY HIGH RIVER LEVELS
AND SOIL MOISTURE...REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT POTENTIAL OF SERIOUS
FLOODING.  MORNING STORMS PRODUCED 3-5 INCHS NORTHWEST GALVESTON
COUNTY.  WOULD NOT BE SURPRIZED TO SEE SOME ISOLATED 10 INCH TOTALS
BEFORE THIS IS OVER. OBVIOUSLY FLASH FLOOD WATCH UP FOR WHOLE AREA.
IF THAT WASNT ENOUGH...PERSISTENT EAST WIND AT 20 TO 30 MPH HAS
BROUGHT TIDES TO FLOOD LEVELS ON THE COAST AND IN THE BAYS WARRANTING
A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING.  MODELS DONT MOVE SYSTEM EAST OF AREA TIL
LATE IN THE DAY SUNDAY.

PRELIMS...
CLL T/T T/T  62/75/65/75 100/80/80/60
IAH T/T T/T  63/75/65/78 100/80/80/70
GLS T/TR T/T  68/75/68/75 100/80/80/70

30

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 25, 2:15 PM CDT, 3 hours 41 minutes before
TXZ177>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-511-513-260115-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
215 PM CDT FRI APR 25 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH EFFECTIVE
UNTIL 8 PM FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS.  THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE
INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA:  BRAZOS...BURLESON...GRIMES...WALKER...
SAN JACINTO...POLK...WASHINGTON...COLORADO...AUSTIN...WALLER...
MONTGOMERY...LIBERTY...JACKSON...WHARTON...FORT BEND...HARRIS...
MATAGORDA...BRAZORIA...GALVESTON...AND CHAMBERS COUNTIES INCLUDING
THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.  MILAM COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS IS
ALSO INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM IN AND NEAR THE WATCH
AREA.  PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST
WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE
WEATHER APPROACH YOUR AREA.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL OR CABLE TV...OR RADIO FOR
FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Apr 25, 2:16 PM CDT, 3 hours 40 minutes before
TXZ177>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-511-513-260115-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
215 PM CDT FRI APR 25 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH EFFECTIVE
UNTIL 8 PM FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS.  THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE
INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA:  BRAZOS...BURLESON...GRIMES...WALKER...
SAN JACINTO...POLK...WASHINGTON...COLORADO...AUSTIN...WALLER...
MONTGOMERY...LIBERTY...JACKSON...WHARTON...FORT BEND...HARRIS...
MATAGORDA...BRAZORIA...GALVESTON...AND CHAMBERS COUNTIES INCLUDING
THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.  MILAM COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS IS
ALSO INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM IN AND NEAR THE WATCH
AREA.  PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST
WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE
WEATHER APPROACH YOUR AREA.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL OR CABLE TV...OR RADIO FOR
FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 25, 8:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWharton66 min
Apr 25, 8:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXFort Bend58 min
Apr 25, 9:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXAustin, Waller55 min
Apr 25, 9:35 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris55 min
Apr 25, 9:56 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWaller64 min
Apr 25, 10:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazos, Grimes, Washington57 min
Apr 25, 10:48 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMontgomery57 min
Apr 25, 11:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris59 min
Apr 25, 11:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWalker65 min
Apr 25, 12:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Liberty59 min
Apr 25, 3:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXSan Jacinto43 min
Apr 25, 3:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk, Trinity65 min
Apr 25, 3:54 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXBrazoria, Fort Bend, Harris4 hr
Apr 25, 3:54 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXGalveston4 hr
Apr 25, 4:38 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXGrimes67 min
Apr 25, 5:48 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXWaller4 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.