Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 61, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Oct 25, 1997, 5:23 PM CDT for Madison County, Walker 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
- Oct 25, 1997, 5:23 PM CDT (22:23 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 25, 1997, 6:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 67 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Madison County, TX, Walker County, TX
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 5:47 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Midway, 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 nearest sounding before it
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 258 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
- 3249 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 591 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 123 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 137 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.0
- Supercell composite
- 12.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHOU 252223 RRA TORHOU TXC313-471-252330- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 523 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 630 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...EASTERN MADISON COUNTY...NORTHERN WALKER COUNTY AT 522 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A POSSIBLE TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM ABOUT 8 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MADISONVILLE AND MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 25 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 JCARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
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 Oct 25, 2:39 PM CDT, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 25, 2:39 PM CDT, 2 hours 44 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
233 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997
DRYLINE IN CENTRAL TX PUSHING EAST AS SW WINDS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP
OVER THE FA. HIGH DWPTS CONFINED TO THE SRN + ERN PORTIONS OF FA
WITH THE DRYLINE PUTTING THE SQUEEZE ON MAY STILL SEE SVR IN THE MDT
RISK AREA THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON. BY EARLY EVENING STORMS SHOULD BE
WELL EAST OF THE FA AND WNW SFC WINDS BLOWING OVER THE REGION. WILL
LEAVE IN SLIM POPS FOR THE COAST AND EASTERN ZONES THIS EVENING (ERN
ZONES SHOULD STILL HAVE MENTION OF SOME POSSIBLY SEVERE THROUGH EARLY
EVENING) FOR THIS EVENING ALTHOUGH DO NOT EXPECT MUCH IN THE WAY OF
ACCUMULATION. COLD FRONT HAS A WAYS TO GO TO GET HERE AND DO NOT
EXPECT IT UNTIL MIDNIGHT IN THE NW ZONES AND REACHING THE COAST BY
4AM. WINDS WILL ALREADY HAVE GONE RATHER GUSTY AND WITH THE
INCREASED CAA WILL NEED TO HAVE BECOMING WINDY INCLUDED IN THE
COASTAL ZONES AND GALE FORCE FOR THE NSH. S/W TO ROTATE THROUGH THE
REGION AFTER SUNRISE BRINGING MID-UPPER LEVEL LIFT AND MOISTURE TO
KEEP SKIES MOSTLY CLOUDY (LOTS OF AC) AND THEN THINNING DURING THE
AFTERNOON ALTHOUGH WITH THE LL COOLING WILL HAVE IN LOW CLOUDS OVER
THE NORTHERN ZONES...AND THEN A QUICK CLEARING TREND ON MONDAY AS
RIDGE AXIS WILL OVER THE REGION. TEMPS WILL BE ON A STEADY DECLINE
WITH MINS TONIGHT IN THE 50S INLAND AND SUNDAY NIGHT LOWER 40S TO
AROUND 40 INLAND. WILL BE FAVORING THE WARMER NGM FOR MINS.
45
PRELIMS
CLL E E>B/B V 051 062/040 058 0000 NW NEAR 15 AND GUSTY TONIGHT
IAH E E>B/B V 055 063/042 062 -000 "
NE E E/>B V 056 063/041 061 3000 BCMG NW 15 TO 20 AND GUSTY TONITE
GLS E E/>B V 064 064/049 062 2000 BCMNG WINDY TONITE GUSTS 35 MPH
AFTER MIDNIGHTIn the hours before
Special weather statement, Oct 25, 11:25 AM CDT, 5 hours 58 minutes before
TXZ176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-260000- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1125 AM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997 THERE IS A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. A MODERATE RISK EXISTS MAINLY EAST OF A LINE FROM HUNTSVILLE TO HOUSTON TO FREEPORT. AREAS TO THE WEST ARE UNDER A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. A STRONG JETSTREAM WITH EMBEDDED DISTURBANCES WILL ROLL OVER THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON COMBINING WITH A VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND THE ABUNDANT GULF MOISTURE TO PRODUCE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME OF WHICH MAY RAPIDLY BECOME SEVERE. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN AS THEY MOVE TO THE EAST WITH THE GREATEST THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER BEING ISOLATED TORNADOES AND POSSIBLY LARGE HAIL. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OR TORNADO WATCHES WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED AS THIS SEVERE WEATHER EVENT UNFOLDS THIS AFTERNOON. EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION BY EARLY AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER WEATHER NEWS SOURCES FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THIS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING SEVERE WEATHER THREAT.
Special weather statement, Oct 25, 11:30 AM CDT, 5 hours 53 minutes before
TXZ176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-260000- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1125 AM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997 THERE IS A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. A MODERATE RISK EXISTS MAINLY EAST OF A LINE FROM HUNTSVILLE TO HOUSTON TO FREEPORT. AREAS TO THE WEST ARE UNDER A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. A STRONG JETSTREAM WITH EMBEDDED DISTURBANCES WILL ROLL OVER THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON COMBINING WITH A VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND THE ABUNDANT GULF MOISTURE TO PRODUCE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME OF WHICH MAY RAPIDLY BECOME SEVERE. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN AS THEY MOVE TO THE EAST WITH THE GREATEST THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER BEING ISOLATED TORNADOES AND POSSIBLY LARGE HAIL. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OR TORNADO WATCHES WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED AS THIS SEVERE WEATHER EVENT UNFOLDS THIS AFTERNOON. EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION BY EARLY AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER WEATHER NEWS SOURCES FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THIS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING SEVERE WEATHER THREAT.
Special weather statement, Oct 25, 12:28 PM CDT, 4 hours 55 minutes before
TXZ163-164-260000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1228 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997 A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR HOUSTON AND TRINITY COUNTIES THROUGH 7 PM. A STRONG COLD FRONT IS BARRELING TOWARD SOUTHEAST TEXAS. AS THIS FRONT PLOWS INTO THE WARM MOIST AIR RESIDENT OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP RAPIDLY THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL... GUSTY WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES POSSIBLE. AT THIS TIME...THE CURRENT TORNADO WATCH ONLY INCLUDES A SMALL PART OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...HOWEVER OTHER SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES MAY BE REQUIRED LATER THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING FOR THE REMAINDER OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. REMEMBER...A WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE WEATHER TO DEVELOP IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. A WARNING MEANS THAT SEVERE WEATHER HAS DEVELOPED AND PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. REPEATING...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR HOUSTON AND TRINITY COUNTY UNTIL 7 PM THIS EVENING.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 4:56 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Houston | 64 min |
| Oct 25, 5:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Waller | 26 min |
| Oct 25, 5:40 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Montgomery, Waller | 65 min |
| Oct 25, 5:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Grimes | 35 min |
| Oct 25, 6:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris | 56 min |
| Oct 25, 6:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 60 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.