Tornado Warning 15, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

Issued

Apr 11, 1997, 1:40 AM CDT (06:40 UTC)

Expired

Apr 11, 1997, 2:45 AM CDT

In force

65 min

Issued by

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

Area

Whole counties

County Wharton County, TX

The Houston radar (KHGX), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:43 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.

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.

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 110640 RRA
TORHOU
TXC481-110745-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
140 AM CDT FRI APR 11 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  245 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...WHARTON COUNTY
 
AT 1 40 AM...A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED ON THE SOUTHWEST SIDE
OF WHARTON....MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO... GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND
MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT GET
INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Apr 11, 1:22 AM CDT, 18 minutes earlier.

SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
120 AM CDT FRI APR 11 1997
...VERY DANGEROUS FLOODING SITUTATION UNDERWAY...

MCS THAT MOVED INTO THE SW ZONES SHOULD SLOW IN ITS NORTHEASTWARD
MOVEMENT AND BEGIN TO TURN MORE EAST AFTER 3 AM.  LOW LEVEL/MESOSCALE
FEATURES INDICATING THAT SIGNIFICANT TRAINING WILL BE A PROBLEM
THROUGH 12Z.  AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF IT APPEARS FROM WATER VAPOR THAT
OUTFLOW JET BECOMING PRONOUNCED ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE COMPLEX
HELPING IN THE ORGANIZATION.  RADAR ALREADY INDICATING STORM TOTAL
RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF AROUND 5 INCHES NEAR EL CAMPO AND 9 TO 10
INCHES NEAR HALLETSVILLE! (SOME OF THE PRECIP OVER THESE AREAS MAY BE
GETTING SOME HAIL CONTAMINATION...ALTHOUGH SO FAR NO GROUNDTRUTH BACK
OF HAIL WITH THESE STORMS.)  ALSO OF NOTE THE VERY STRONG MESO ALONG
THE SLOW MOVING PSEUDO WARM FRONT OVER WATER.  AT THIS RATE NOT ONLY
WILL WE HAVE FLOODING PROBLEMS BUT SEVERE AS WELL.  WILL NEED TO
EXPAND FFA A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH AND MUCH FURTHER EAST AND ADD
MENTION OF SEVERE FOR A LARGE PART OF THE AREA...ALTHOUGH THE SPEED
SHEAR IS NOT TREMENDOUS THE TURNING IS IMPRESSIVE AND THE CAPE IS
RATHER APPARENT BY LOOKING AT THE REFLECTIVITY MAXIMA ALOFT A NUMBER
OF STORMS DEVELOPING STRONG MESOS OVER THE SW ZONES.

LATEST 3HR PRECIP ESTIMATES RUNNING IN EXCESS OF 7 INCHES.

45
WILL FOLLOW WITH TEMPS AND POPS AS TIME PERMITS.

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes in 1997

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.