Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

January 1, 1999San Jacinto County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Jan 1, 1999, 9:50 PM CST for San Jacinto County, Texas. It was in force for 65 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
Jan 1, 1999, 9:50 PM CST (03:50 UTC)
Expired
Jan 1, 1999, 10:55 PM CST
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County San Jacinto County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:50 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jan 1, 4:30 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr
Jan 1, 7:30 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 196 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 00:00Z on 1999-01-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 437 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 00:00Z on 1999-01-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 202 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
437 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
704 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
202 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
238 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
2.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

999 
WFUS1 KHOU 020349 RRA
TORHOU
TXC407-020455-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
950 PM CST FRI JAN 1 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SAN JACINTO COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS

* UNTIL 1055 PM CST

* AT 950 PM...RADAR INDICATED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES WEST
OF SPLENDORA MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

*  THIS STORM WILL TRAVEL THROUGH THE NATIONAL FOREST AND ACROSS FM
1726 SOUTH OF EVERGREEN.

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

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 1, 7:30 PM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 7:30 PM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
730 PM CST FRI JAN 1 1999

NEW TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED BY SPC FOR ALL OF SE TX UNTIL 100
AM.  DEVELOPING SQUALL LINE TO OUR WEST IS MAKING PROGRESS THIS WAY...
AND IT LOOKS TO BE A BUSY EVENING/NIGHT.  PARAMETERS COMING TOGETHER
FOR A COMBINED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD EVENT.

WHEN THE STORMS COME TO AN END TOMORROW...WELL BE DEALING WITH OUR
NEXT COLD WAVE AS STRONG NORTH AND NORTHWEST SURFACE WINDS BEHIND THIS
EMERGING BIG EASTERN U.S. STORM BRING COLDER AIR THIS WAY.

.HGX...TORNADO WATCH (WW2) IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM.
       FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT.
       SCA TONIGHT AND SAT.

PRELIMS...
CLL BU 050/052 028/048 025 910
IAH BU 062/063 030/050 027 920
GLS BU 066/066 041/050 035 920

42/44/31/45/32/47/36

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 1, 4:32 PM CST, 5 hours 18 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-198>200-020420-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
432 PM CST FRI JAN 1 1999

A TORNADO WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM ALONG AND NORTH OF A
LINE FROM LIBERTY TO CONROE TO CALDWELL.

THIS TORNADO WATCH WILL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
LIBERTY... MONTGOMERY... GRIMES... BURLESON... BRAZOS... WALKER...
SAN JACINTO... POLK... TRINITY... HOUSTON... MADISON... .  THE MAJOR
CITIES OF CONROE... NAVASOTA... HUNTSVILLE... GROVETON...
LIVINGSTON... CALDWELL AND BRYAN/COLLEGE STATION.

CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO BE FAVORABLE FOR THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF
THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS GULF MOISTURE SURGES
NORTH THROUGH THE WATCH AREA.  A VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE
WILL SWEEP OVER THE AREA ENHANCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS.

TORNADOES...STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...AND LARGE HAIL WILL ALL BE
POSSIBLE WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP.  IN ADDITION A PACIFIC
COLD FRONT WILL LIKELY ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT OF A SQUALL LINE MOVING
OUT OF THE HILL COUNTRY THIS EVENING.  ALTHOUGH STRONG DAMAGING
WINDS MAY ACCOMPANY THE SQUALL LINE THE POSSIBILITY OF ISOLATED
TORNADOES WILL EXIST THROUGHOUT THE EVENING.

REMEMBER...A WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES...AND THAT WARNINGS MEAN THAT TORNADOES
ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURING.  IF A WARNING IS ISSUED SEEK SHELTER
IMMEDIATELY.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL NEWS SOURCES FOR
THE LATEST UPDATES.  RELAY ANY SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS TO YOUR LOCAL
SHERIFFS OFFICE FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
Special weather statement, Jan 1, 4:52 PM CST, 4 hours 58 minutes before
GMZ330-335-350-355-370-375-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-
235>238-021300-

SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAINFALL OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
452 PM CST FRI JAN 1 1999

...ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS REMAINS IN A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT...

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT TONIGHT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH SOUTHEAST TEXAS TONIGHT.  AHEAD OF
THE FRONT...WARM AND UNSTABLE AIR WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AND
PRODUCE NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.  SOME OF THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL
AND DAMAGING WINDS.  A FEW TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THE MOST
INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS.  A SQUALL LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO FORM OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS THIS
EVENING AND MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS.  SINCE THIS SQUALL
LINE WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST...ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS
HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

IN ADDITION TO THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT...HEAVY RAINS ARE ALSO
POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN
EFFECT.  RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL AVERAGE AROUND 2 INCHES WITH ISOLATED
AMOUNTS UP TO 5 INCHES POSSIBLE.  THESE RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL INCREASE
THE THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING AS WELL AS URBAN FLOODING.  PEOPLE ALONG
CREEKS...STREAMS AND RIVERS SHOULD MONITOR WATER LEVELS AND BE
PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD RIVER LEVELS BEGIN TO RISE.

SPOTTER GROUPS AS WELL AS EMERGENCY MANAGERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PREPARE
FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER AND FLASH FLOODING.

THIS IS A DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.  STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER
OR RELIABLE WEATHER NEWS SOURCES FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
ISSUANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
OR TORNADO WATCHES WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST
TEXAS LATER THIS EVENING AND DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

WEATHER INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT
WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/HGX.
Special weather statement, Jan 1, 6:53 PM CST, 2 hours 57 minutes before
GMZ330-335-350-355-370-375-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-
226-227-235>238-020155-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
653 PM CST FRI JAN 1 1999

...TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 1000 PM CDT...

AT 650 PM CST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED ALONG THE I-35
CORRIDOR FROM JUST EAST OF AUSTIN SOUTH TO SAN ANTONIO. THE LINE WAS
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH AND WILL APPROACH THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS AFTER 715 PM. DAMAGING WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING
AND LARGE WILL BE POSSIBLE AS THIS LINE MOVES THROUGH THE AREA.
THERE IS ALSO A THREAT OF TORNADOES AND A THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING. A
FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TONIGHT.

PEOPLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST
WEATHER INFORMATION. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...TV...OR YOUR
LOCAL NEW SOURCE FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND ADDITIONAL WATCHES AND
WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Jan 1, 7:20 PM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
GMZ330-335-350-355-370-375-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-
235>238-020700-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
720 PM CST FRI JAN 1 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR ALL OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 1 AM SATURDAY MORNING.  COUNTIES INCLUDED IN
THE WATCH AREA ARE:  AUSTIN...BRAZORIA...BRAZOS...BURLESON...
CHAMBERS...COLORADO...FORT BEND...GALVESTON...GRIMES...HARRIS...
HOUSTON...JACKSON...LIBERTY...MADISON...MATAGORDA...MONTGOMERY...
POLK...SAN JACINTO...TRINITY...WALKER...WALLER...WASHINGTON...
WHARTON...AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.

A SQUALL LINE HAS DEVELOPED IN CENTRAL TEXAS THIS EVENING AS A
STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE COLLIDES INTO WARM MOIST AIR.
UPPER LEVEL WINDS WILL BE SUPPORTIVE FOR TORNADO FORMATION AHEAD OF...
AND ALONG...THE LINE.  TORNADOES HAVE BEEN VERIFIED EARLIER THIS
AFTERNOON.  THE SQUALL LINE WILL MOVE WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE AREA
BRINGING A THREAT OF STRONG DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL IN
ADDITION TO TORNADOES.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE
WEATHER AND TORNADOES IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA.  PERSONS IN THOSE
AREAS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER SHOULD A WARNING BE ISSUED.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL TELEVISION OR RADIO
STATIONS...OR YOUR CABLE TELEVISION PROVIDER FOR LATER STATEMENTS
CONCERNING THIS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SEVERE WEATHER THREAT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 1, 7:05 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXBurleson55 min
Jan 1, 7:41 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston59 min
Jan 1, 7:51 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXBrazos59 min
Jan 1, 8:37 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMadison48 min
Jan 1, 8:48 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXHarris42 min
Jan 1, 9:01 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXColorado44 min
Jan 1, 9:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXGrimes, Washington63 min
Jan 1, 9:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston65 min
Jan 1, 9:35 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXMontgomery65 min
Jan 1, 9:47 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXHarris63 min
Jan 1, 9:55 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXLiberty60 min
Jan 1, 10:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWalker65 min
Jan 1, 10:34 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXPolk61 min
Jan 1, 10:41 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXMontgomery64 min
Jan 1, 10:46 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXHarris64 min
Jan 1, 10:47 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXLiberty28 min
Jan 1, 10:47 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXLiberty58 min
Jan 1, 11:25 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXChambers, Galveston90 min
Jan 1, 11:25 PM CSTTornado WarningHGXChambers65 min
Jan 1, 11:49 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris61 min
Jan 1, 11:50 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Galveston65 min
Jan 1, 11:54 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXLiberty61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes in 1999

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.