Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 69, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Nov 5, 1997, 10:38 AM CST for Liberty County, Texas. It was in force for 37 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
- Nov 5, 1997, 10:38 AM CST (16:38 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 5, 1997, 11:15 AM CST
- In force
- 37 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Liberty County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:37 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, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 155 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
- 1096 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 83 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 179 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
790 WFUS1 KHOU 051640 RRA TORHOU TXC291-051715- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1038 AM CST WED NOV 5 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1115 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...SOUTHERN LIBERTY COUNTY AT 1037 AM...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM JUST EAST OF DAYTON AND MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. IF THE STORM HOLDS TOGETHER...IT IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE LIBERTY AREA BY 1050 AM. 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 Nov 5, 9:48 AM CST, 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Nov 5, 9:48 AM CST, 50 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 945 AM CST WED NOV 5 1997 TSRAs STILL FIRING ALONG A N-S SFC PRE-FRONTAL BOUNDARY CURRENTLY MOVING THRU SE TX. THIS LINE NOT PRODUCING VERY ORGANIZED CONVECTION ON ITS SRN END WITH MOST OF THE STRONGER ACTIVITY CONFINED TO ITS NRN HALF. WE SHOULD SEE A BREAK FROM THE PCPN ALONG WITH SOME CLEARING THIS MORNING BEHIND THIS BOUNDARY BUT AFTN HEATING AND RESIDUAL MOISTURE MAY STILL ALLOW FOR SOME WIDELY SCATTERED SHRAs (ISOLATED TSRA) WITH THE FRONT. MORNING SOUNDINGS/UA DATA/LATEST SATELLITE LOOPS DO SUPPORT THE DIMINISHING THREAT OF SEVERE WX FOR SE TX THIS MORNING. WILL GO WITH FROPA TIMES BEGINNING AROUND NOON FOR OUR NRN ZONES...WITH THE COLD FRONT DEFINITELY INTO THE GULF BY SUNSET. 41 PRELIMS... CLL C>B/V U/V 74/46 72/40 4000 (CLRING AFTN) IAH C>B/V U/V 76/48 70/41 4000 (CLRING LATE AFTN) GLS C>B/V U/V 76/56 70/52 4000 (CLRING LATE AFTN)
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Nov 5, 7:00 AM CST, 3 hours 38 minutes before
TXZ163-179-164-051800- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 700 AM CST WED NOV 5 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTHERN SOUTHEAST TEXAS: HOUSTON...TRINITY... AND POLK COUNTIES. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE CONTINUES TO MOVE THROUGH NORTHERN TEXAS AND WILL APPROACH SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS MORNING. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AHEAD OF THIS IMPULSE. THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO REACH SEVERE LIMITS. STORMS EARLIER THIS MORNING PRODUCED GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL IN HOUSTON COUNTY. REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD KEEP ALERT OF THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER APPROACH YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER NEWS SOURCES FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Nov 5, 7:04 AM CST, 3 hours 34 minutes before
TXZ163-179-164-051800- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 700 AM CST WED NOV 5 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTHERN SOUTHEAST TEXAS: HOUSTON...TRINITY... AND POLK COUNTIES. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE CONTINUES TO MOVE THROUGH NORTHERN TEXAS AND WILL APPROACH SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS MORNING. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AHEAD OF THIS IMPULSE. THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO REACH SEVERE LIMITS. STORMS EARLIER THIS MORNING PRODUCED GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL IN HOUSTON COUNTY. REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD KEEP ALERT OF THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER APPROACH YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER NEWS SOURCES FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 4, 6:15 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Matagorda | 60 min |
| Nov 4, 6:36 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Matagorda | 54 min |
| Nov 4, 10:26 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 64 min |
| Nov 4, 11:01 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Matagorda | 59 min |
| Nov 4, 11:34 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 41 min |
| Nov 5, 12:10 AM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 35 min |
| Nov 5, 2:16 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 59 min |
| Nov 5, 3:25 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 65 min |
| Nov 5, 3:59 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Galveston | 61 min |
| Nov 5, 4:06 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Houston | 69 min |
| Nov 5, 4:30 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Matagorda | 60 min |
| Nov 5, 4:35 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 55 min |
| Nov 5, 5:21 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Houston | 54 min |
| Nov 5, 5:31 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 59 min |
| Nov 5, 6:00 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Houston | 60 min |
| Nov 5, 7:02 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Houston | 58 min |
| Nov 5, 7:26 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Houston | 2 hr |
| Nov 5, 7:26 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Trinity | 64 min |
| Nov 5, 8:05 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Houston | 55 min |
| Nov 5, 8:31 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Houston, Trinity | 119 min |
| Nov 5, 8:47 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Trinity | 58 min |
| Nov 5, 8:52 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Polk | 68 min |
| Nov 5, 2:55 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Matagorda | 50 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.