Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 37, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

September 10, 1998Brazoria County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Sep 10, 1998, 6:47 PM CDT for Brazoria County, Texas. It was in force for 58 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
Sep 10, 1998, 6:47 PM CDT (23:47 UTC)
Expired
Sep 10, 1998, 7:45 PM CDT
In force
58 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Brazoria County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 48 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:47 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, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 240 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 1998-09-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 1998-09-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 193 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
517 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
193 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
234 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 102347 RRA
TORHOU
TXC039-110045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
647 PM CDT THU SEP 10 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BRAZORIA COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS

* UNTIL 745 PM CDT

* AT 643 PM CDT... WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 29 MILES
  SOUTHEAST OF ANGLETON OR 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FREEPORT MOVING
  NORTHWEST AT 45 MPH.

* THIS TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  FREEPORT BY 700 PM CDT
  JONES CREEK BY 705 PM CDT
  CLUTE BY 705 PM CDT
  LAKE JACKSON BY 710 PM CDT
  ANGLETON BY 720 PM CDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE IN
THE PATH pOF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IN A SMALL
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.
ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR 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 Sep 10, 2:45 PM CDT, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 2:45 PM CDT, 4 hours 2 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
245 PM CDT THU SEP 10 1998

DUE TO THE UNCERTATINTY WITH ALL THE GUIDANCE WITH TS FRANCES...WILL
OPT FOR ONLY A FEW CHANGES FROM THE CURRENT TREND OF HIGH POPS/WINDS.
SATELLITE IMAGERY SO FAR THIS AFTN INDICATING THAT FRANCES IS START-
ING TO LOOK A BIT MORE ORGANIZED.  HOWEVER...THE STORM DOES NOT SEEM
TO WANT TO GO ANYWHERE FAST AND SO WE SHOULD CONTINUE WITH A PERSIS-
TENT NE/ELY FLOW THROUGH AT LEAST THE NEXT 24-36H. THIS WILL IN TURN
CONTINUE TO BRING MOISTURE/PCPN ASHORE OF SE TX.  THUS WOULD LIKE TO
RE-ISSUE AND EXPAND THE FFA TO INCLUDE ALL OF SE TX FOR TONIGHT THRU
FRIDAY.  GIVEN THE EXTENSIVE (AND CONTINUING) CLOUD COVER WOULD ALSO
LIKE TO GO WITH SLIGHTLY LOWER DAYTIME TEMPS.  COASTAL FLOOD PROBLEM
DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE GOING AWAY QUICKLY EITHER.  WOULD LIKE TO DROP
WIND ADVZY THIS PCKG.

PLEASE NOTE - SOME CHANGES MAY BE IN STORE DEPENDING UPON CONFERENCE
CALL RESULTS!

41

PRELIMS...
       SKY       TEMPS    POPS          WINDS
CLL E/E E/E  76/85 76/90  *865  15G20/15-20/15-20/15-20  FFA
NE  E/E E/E  76/85 76/90  *866  15G20/15-20/15-20/15-20  FFA
IAH C/C C/C  76/84 76/88  **76  15G25/15G25/15G25/15-20  FFA
GLS C/C C/C  78/83 78/86  **87  25G35/20G30/20G30/20G25  FFA

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 10, 5:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before
TXZ213-214-235>238-102330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
525 PM CDT THU SEP 10 1998

...VERY HIGH TIDES EXPECTED THIS EVENING...

RECENT TRENDS AT TIDE GAUGES ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST INDICATE
THAT GALVESTON BEACH FRONT TIDES WILL REACH BETWEEN 5 TO 6 FEET
ABOVE THE PREDICTED LEVEL THIS EVENING.  HIGH TIDE AT PLEASURE
PIER WILL OCCUR AT 829 PM.  WATER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH
BETWEEN 7 AND 8 FEET AT THIS HIGH TIDE. IN ADDITION TO THE HIGH
TIDE...EXPECT VERY STRONG WIND GUSTS AS SQUALLS CONTINUE TO PUSH
ONSHORE. AT 5 PM...A 55 MPH WIND GUST WAS REPORTED AT HIGH ISLAND.

SIMILAR OR SLIGHTLY HIGHER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE
FOLLOWING HIGH TIDE AT 637 AM...EARLY FRIDAY MORNING.
Special weather statement, Sep 10, 5:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before
TXZ213-214-235>238-102330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
525 PM CDT THU SEP 10 1998

...VERY HIGH TIDES EXPECTED THIS EVENING...

RECENT TRENDS AT TIDE GAUGES ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST INDICATE
THAT GALVESTON BEACH FRONT TIDES WILL REACH BETWEEN 5 TO 6 FEET
ABOVE THE PREDICTED LEVEL THIS EVENING.  HIGH TIDE AT PLEASURE
PIER WILL OCCUR AT 829 PM.  WATER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH
BETWEEN 7 AND 8 FEET AT THIS HIGH TIDE. IN ADDITION TO THE HIGH
TIDE...EXPECT VERY STRONG WIND GUSTS AS SQUALLS CONTINUE TO PUSH
ONSHORE. AT 5 PM...A 55 MPH WIND GUST WAS REPORTED AT HIGH ISLAND.

SIMILAR OR SLIGHTLY HIGHER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE
FOLLOWING HIGH TIDE AT 637 AM...EARLY FRIDAY MORNING.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 10, 8:55 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXMatagorda35 min
Sep 10, 9:16 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXBrazoria44 min
Sep 10, 9:42 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXBrazoria, Matagorda3 hr
Sep 10, 5:51 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXBrazoria, Matagorda4 hr

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.