Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 24, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1997, 6:18 PM CDT for Trinity County, Texas. It was in force for 57 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
- May 15, 1997, 6:18 PM CDT (23:18 UTC)
- Expired
- May 15, 1997, 7:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 57 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Trinity County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 180 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:19 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 6:37 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Groveton, TX | Weak tornado downed trees 9 miles east of Groveton |
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 nearest sounding before it
Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 203 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2307 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 70 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 191 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
294 WFUS1 KHOU 152319 RRA TORHOU TXC455-160015- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 618 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 715 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHEAST TEXAS ...TRINITY COUNTY AT 617 PM...A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM WAS 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF GROVETON ALONG HIGHWAY 287. THIS STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH. PENNINGTON IS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM. THE HOUSTON COUNTY SHERIFFS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 5 MILES EAST OF CROCKETT AT 615 PM. 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. IF YOU SEE SEVERE WEATHER TAKING PLACE... CALL YOUR REPORT TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR IMMEDIATE RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. &
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at May 15, 2:26 PM CDT, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 15, 2:26 PM CDT, 3 hours 52 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 225 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997 RAMSDIS 4KM VSBY LOOP SHOWS MCV NR SJT. MEANWHILE...ENHANCED VV TO THE E OF MCV AND LWR LVL OUTFLOW FIRING OFF SCT CONVECTION BETWN CLL AND VCT EWD. CAPES RUNNING NR 2000 JOULES/KG. ADAP SMC RIGHT WHERE CONVECTION IS...W/SFC DEWPOINTS NR 70. ETA SHOWS MID LVL VORTEX MOVG SLWLY EWD TO SE TX AND THEN SAGGING SEWD BY SATURDAY MRNG. SFC HI PRES TO THE N WL MOVE SEWD TO NRN LA/MS BRINGING ELY FLOW OVR OUR RGN...AND SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR FILTERING INTO AREA LATE FRI NIGHT TO SATURDAY. 805 MB THETA-E RIDGE STAYING GENLY TO N AND W OF FA. FAR ERN ZNS SHOULD REMAIN DRIER THAN REST OF FA...AND LESS POPS THERE. BEST CHANCES OF PCPN PROBABLY TONITE AND FRI TAPERING OFF LATER FRI NITE. UPPER LVL (300 MB) WNDS THROUGH 48 HOURS NOT CONDUCIVE TO STRONG CONVECTION W/CONFLUENT FLOW OVR RGN. IT APPEARS THAT UPPER LVL LOW (NRN PTNS) WL GET SHEARED AND SHUNTED SWD IN TIME (BY FRI NITE). ETA HAS BETTER HANDLE ON THIS SCENARIO THAN NGM. ON CWF...(FOR UPPR TX COAST) RECOMMEND FOR TONITE AROUND 10 KTS WNDS W/SEAS 3 FT OR LESS. 1ST THOUGHTS...#37 PRELIMS: CLL E/E B/B 68/82 64/87 3/3 2/2 IAH E/E B/B 69/81 65/86 4/4 3/2 GLS E/E E/B 74/79 72/82 4/5 4/2
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 3:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Wharton | 64 min |
| May 15, 3:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 56 min |
| May 15, 3:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Harris | 55 min |
| May 15, 4:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | San Jacinto | 61 min |
| May 15, 5:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Houston | 67 min |
| May 15, 5:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Walker | 60 min |
| May 15, 5:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Polk | 56 min |
| May 15, 6:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Houston | 69 min |
| May 15, 6:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Grimes | 63 min |
| May 15, 6:51 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Houston, Trinity | 3 hr |
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.