Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Jan 11, 1998, 7:01 PM CST for Grimes County, Texas. It was in force for 59 min. 2 reports 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
- Jan 11, 1998, 7:01 PM CST (01:01 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 11, 1998, 8:00 PM CST
- In force
- 59 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Grimes County, TX
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 11, 7:35 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind | Stoneham, TX | 2 barns destroyed and several trees uprooted by strong winds. |
| Jan 11, 7:35 PM CST | Hail 0.75 | Stoneham, 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 11, 4:45 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 271 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
- 16 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -82 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 953 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 67 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 148 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 253 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
702 WFUS1 KHOU 120110 TORHOU TXC185-120200- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING...REWORDED SEVERE WITH TORNADIC NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 701 PM CST SUN JAN 11 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...GRIMES COUNTY AT 701 PM...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN SOUTHERN BRAZOS COUNTY. THIS STORM WHICH HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING HAIL UP TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER WHEN IT PASSED THROUGH WELLBORN WAS LOCATED 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CARLOS. MOVEMENT WAS EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THE COMMUNITY OF CARLOS IS IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO... SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM... SUCH AS A CLOSET OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS AND PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS WITH CUSHIONS... BLANKETS... OR PILLOWS. &
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 Jan 11, 1:30 PM CST, 5 hours 31 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 11, 1:30 PM CST, 5 hours 31 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 130 PM CST SUN JAN 11 1998 SCT -SHRA BEGINNING TO DEVELOP ACROSS OUR WESTERN COUNTIES TO THE WEST OF THE IAH AREA. EARLY AFTERNOON ADAP DATA INDICATES SE TX HAS NO CAP INVERSION...INCREASING SURFACE MOISTURE CONVERGENCE...AND LOWERING LI VALUES. INLAND DEW POINTS REMAIN IN THE UPPER 50S TO LOWER 60S...WHILE COASTAL READING ARE APPROACHING THE MID 60S (HOU AT 66). EXPECT SHRA TO CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY THIS AFTERNOON WITH TSRA...SOME POSSIBLY SEVERE...FORMING AS UPPER LOW PRESENTLY MOVING THROUGH THE TX PANHANDLE GETS CLOSER TO E TX AND APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL SUBTROPICAL JETS (EVIDENT ON WATER VAPOR SATELLITE PICTURES) RACE TOWARD SE TX. 12Z TIME SECTIONS KEEP THE LOWEST LEVELS MOIST OVERNIGHT...LEADING TO SOME LOW CLOUD/PATCHY FOG FORMATION BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND SUNRISE. EXPECT MORNING CLOUDS TO LIFT THROUGH THE AFTERNOON RESULTING IN SKIES BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY AS A DRIER WEST TO SOUTHWEST WIND PREVAILS. STRENGTH OF RETURN FLOW IS IN QUESTION FOR MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY MORNING. TIME SECTIONS SHOW DEEP MOISTURE POOL THAT WILL REMAIN JUST OFFSHORE ON MONDAY WILL RETURN TO THE AREA MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY RESULTING IN SKIES BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY. SW FLOW AT 500 MB WILL KEEP AREA UNDER THREAT OF EMBEDDED WEAK SHORTWAVES. PROXIMITY OF A COLD FRONT ON TUESDAY AND RETURN FLOW WILL RESULT IN LOW POPS REINTRODUCED INTO THE FORECAST. DETAILS ARE NEXT. PRELIMS... NE T/E>B B/>E 053/072 048/070 7002 CLL T/E>B B/>E 051/074 049/070 6002 IAH T/E>B >E/E 055/074 052/071 6023 GLS T/E>B >E/E 060/069 058/069 6023 *ALL ZONES HAVE SOME POSSIBLY SVR TSRA THIS EVENING 42
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jan 11, 4:32 PM CST, 2 hours 29 minutes before
TXZ211-237-210-227-198-213-163-200-511-236-199-179-178-164-177- 212-197-226-196-195-214-238-235-176-120430- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 432 PM CST SUN JAN 11 1998 ...TORNADO WATCH ISSUED FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 1000 PM... A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS FROM 445 PM UNTIL 10 PM THIS EVENING. THE COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA...BURLESON...BRAZOS...MADISON...HOUSTON...WASHINGTON... GRIMES...WALKER...TRINITY...COLORADO...AUSTIN...WALLER...MONTGOMERY... SAN JACINTO...POLK...JACKSON...WHARTON...FORT BEND...HARRIS... LIBERTY...MATAGORDA...BRAZORIA...GALVESTON AND CHAMBERS COUNTIES. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL TEXAS WILL SPREAD OVER EAST TEXAS THROUGH THE EVENING...WITH THE POTENTIAL OF SOME STORMS BECOMING SEVERE. IN ADDITION...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL UP TO 2 INCHES WHICH WILL AGGRAVATE THE FLOODING PROBLEMS OVER ALREADY SATURATED GROUNDS. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATEST STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Jan 11, 4:32 PM CST, 2 hours 29 minutes before
TXZ211-237-210-227-198-213-163-200-511-236-199-179-178-164-177- 212-197-226-196-195-214-238-235-176-120430- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 432 PM CST SUN JAN 11 1998 ...TORNADO WATCH ISSUED FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 1000 PM... A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS FROM 445 PM UNTIL 10 PM THIS EVENING. THE COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA...BURLESON...BRAZOS...MADISON...HOUSTON...WASHINGTON... GRIMES...WALKER...TRINITY...COLORADO...AUSTIN...WALLER...MONTGOMERY... SAN JACINTO...POLK...JACKSON...WHARTON...FORT BEND...HARRIS... LIBERTY...MATAGORDA...BRAZORIA...GALVESTON AND CHAMBERS COUNTIES. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL TEXAS WILL SPREAD OVER EAST TEXAS THROUGH THE EVENING...WITH THE POTENTIAL OF SOME STORMS BECOMING SEVERE. IN ADDITION...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL UP TO 2 INCHES WHICH WILL AGGRAVATE THE FLOODING PROBLEMS OVER ALREADY SATURATED GROUNDS. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATEST STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 11, 6:31 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Brazos, Burleson | 59 min |
| Jan 11, 6:36 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Washington | 69 min |
| Jan 11, 7:42 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 48 min |
| Jan 11, 8:31 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 34 min |
| Jan 11, 9:23 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | San Jacinto | 27 min |
| Jan 11, 9:38 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Polk | 57 min |
| Jan 11, 9:38 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Polk | 67 min |
| Jan 12, 1:34 AM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Liberty | 61 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.