Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 31, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

August 13, 1998Brazoria County, Matagorda County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Aug 13, 1998, 6:08 PM CDT for Brazoria County, Matagorda County, Texas. It was in force for 32 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
Aug 13, 1998, 6:08 PM CDT (23:08 UTC)
Expired
Aug 13, 1998, 6:40 PM CDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Brazoria County, TX, Matagorda County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 211 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 1998-08-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3198 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 1998-08-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -50 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
3198 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
668 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-50 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 132309
TORHOU
TXC039-321-132340-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
608 PM CDT THU AUG 13 1998

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN BRAZORIA COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS
  EASTERN MATAGORDA COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS

* UNTIL 640 PM CDT

* AT 610 PM CDT... WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM
  SOUTH OF PLEDGER IN NORTHEAST MATAGORDA COUNTY... MOVING SOUTHEAST
  AT 10 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT...
  THE 1728 AREA IN NORTHEAST MATAGORDA COUNTY TO OLD OCEAN AND SWEENY
  IN WESTERN BRAZORIA COUNTY

IF YOU ARE IN THESE AREAS... SEEK SAFETY IN A SMALL INTERdIOR ROOM
AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

END

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 Aug 13, 2:35 PM CDT, 3 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 2:35 PM CDT, 3 hours 33 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
235 PM CDT THU AUG 13 1998

CLUSTER OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN
HALF OF FORECAST AREA WHILE SEABREEZE BOUNDARY STARTING TO
PRODUCE CONVECTION OVER COASTAL COUNTIES. MODELS INDICATE MAIN
ENERGY FROM UPPER TROUGH WILL REMAIN OVER CENTRAL PORTION OF
TEXAS. HOWEVER...WEAK IMPULSE WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH EASTWARD
TONIGHT AND FRIDAY ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS. AVN SHOWS UPPER TROUGH
HANGING ON JUST W OF REGION (WEAKENING) NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.

PWS WILL REMAIN QUITE HIGH (NEAR 2 INCHES) NEXT TWO DAYS. SAME
WITH CAPES ESPECIALLY ALONG COASTAL REGION. MESO-DRIVEN CONVECTION
WILL BE THE RULE FOR THIS FORECAST PACKAGE. WILL STAY CLOSE TO
AVIATION GUIDANCE AS THIS APPEARS TO BE MORE REASONABLE. WOULD BE
PRUDENT TO MENTION LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL FOR 1ST AND 2ND PERIOD.

RECOMMEND NO HEAT ADVISORY FOR FRIDAY AS CLOUD COVER AND SCATTERED
CONVECTIONF WILL HELP KEEP TEMPS AT OR SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMS.

CLL E/E E/B  74/91 74/94 5543
IAH E/E E/B  75/92 74/94 5543
GLS E/E E/B  81/91 81/91 4543

#37

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 13, 2:48 PM CDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-141000-

HEAVY RAIN OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
300 PM CDT TUE AUG 10 1998

THERE IS A THREAT OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST
TEXAS FOR TONIGHT AND FRIDAY.

VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS...IN COMBINATION WITH
IMPULSES FROM A SLOW MOVING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE JUST
WEST OF THE REGION...WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED TO WIDESPREAD AREAS OF
THUNDERSTORMS AND SHOWERS.

THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES. THIS MAY RESULT IN LOCALIZED STREET FLOODING
ESPECIALLY ON LOW LYING AREAS.

REMAIN ALERT FOR LATER STATEMENTS ON THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER
SITUATION.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 12, 7:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris50 min
Aug 13, 1:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk, San Jacinto45 min
Aug 13, 1:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWalker47 min
Aug 13, 2:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk, San Jacinto63 min
Aug 13, 4:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998

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.