Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

April 25, 1997Grimes County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 25, 1997, 4:38 PM CDT for Grimes County, Texas. It was in force for 67 min. 1 report 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
Apr 25, 1997, 4:38 PM CDT (21:38 UTC)
Expired
Apr 25, 1997, 5:45 PM CDT
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Grimes County, TX

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 25, 4:40 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Navasota, TX

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 25, 2:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 271 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°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

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

200 
WFUS1 KHOU 252140 RRA
TORHOU
TXC185-252245-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
438 PM CDT FRI APR 25 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  545 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...GRIMES COUNTY
 
AT 440 PM...RADAR INDICATED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES SOUTH OF
NAVASOTA MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. ANDERSON IS IN THE PATH OF
THIS STORM.
 
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.

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, 5:48 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXWaller4 hr
Apr 25, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk64 min

Nearby

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