Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1999
Tornado Warning 40, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 3, 1999, 3:44 PM CST for Polk County, San Jacinto County, Trinity County, Texas. It was in force for 61 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 3, 1999, 3:44 PM CST (21:44 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 3, 1999, 4:45 PM CST
- In force
- 61 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
Counties Polk County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX, Trinity County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 158 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:46 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 4:15 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind | Pointblank, TX | Trees down |
| Apr 3, 4:41 PM CST | Hail 0.75 | Corrigan, 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 nearest sounding before it
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 204 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
- 918 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -357 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 864 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 139 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 251 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHGX 032148 COR TORHOU TXC373-407-455-032245- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED ...CORRECTION TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 344 PM CST SAT APR 3 1999 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... NORTHERN SAN JACINTO COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS EASTERN TRINITY COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS NORTHERN POLK COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS * UNTIL 445 PM CST * AT 341 PM CST...LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR NEW WAVERLY..MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. * TORNADO PRODUCING STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE NEAR... POINT BLANK AT 355 PM CST SEBASTOPOL AT 400 PM CST ONALASKA AT 405 PM CST GROVETON AT 415 PM CST LEGGETT AT 425 PM CST APPLE SPRINGS...CORRIGAN...MOSCOW AT 435 PM CST WALKER COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT REPORTED AT 4 MILES NORTH OF NEW WAVERLY. POINT BLANK...COLD SPRING AND LAKE LIVINGSTON WILL BE IN THE PATH. THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION! QUICK ACTION MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE. MOVE TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON YOUR CAR OR MOBILE HOME NOW FOR A STRONG SHELTER. IF SHELTER IS NOT AVAILABLE...MOVE TO A DITCH OR CULVERT AND COVER YOUR HEAD. PLEASE REP$ORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE COUNTY SHERIFF...LOCAL POLICE... OR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. LAT...LON 3088 9533 3052 9536 3086 9467 3134 9498 &
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 Apr 3, 3:25 PM CST, 19 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 3:25 PM CST, 19 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 325 PM CST SAT APR 3 1999 RATHER IMPRESSIVE LOOKING CONVECTION STARTING TO FIRE UP OVER PARTS OF THE FA THIS AFTERNOON. APPEARS THE EARLIER QUESTIONS RELATED TO CAP STRENGTH SEEM MOOT. WILL KEEP RAIN CHANCE ON THE HIGH SIDE FOR TONIGHT ALONG WITH THE MENTION OF SEVERE. LOOKING AHEAD...THE COM- PLICATED FORECASTS CONTINUE WITH GENERAL CONSENSUS OF NON AGREEMENT AMONG THE MODELS (ESPECIALLY FOR THE EXTENDED FCSTS). COMPOSITE OF AVN/NGM PROG TRENDS SEEM MOST REASONABLE FOR THE SHORT TERM AS THEY KEEP CLOUDS/POPS IN THRU MONDAY. SUBTROPICAL FLOW EXPECTED TO STAY ACTIVE WITH EMBEDDED S/W MOVING ACROSS WHILE ANOTHER UPPER LOW DIGS OFF THE ROCKIES. DEEP ONSHORE FETCH TO REDEVELOP TOMORROW, BUT THE BRUNT OF THIS NEXT SYSTEM SHOULD AFFECT SE TX MONDAY AT THE LATEST. ATTM...INDICATIONS ARE THAT THE AIRMASS WILL HAVE RECOVERED ENOUGH BY THEN FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME STRONG TSRA. FOR TONIGHT THIS LATEST SYSTEM TO EXIT BY MIDNITE WITH SOME PARTIAL CLEARING POSSI- BLE...BUT THE PREVAILING CONDITIONS SHOULD BE MOSTLY CLOUDY ACROSS THE BOARD. NO REAL ARGUMENTS WITH GOING MOS TEMPS AS THEY SEEM TO FOLLOW PERSISTENCE ANYWAY. 41/45/DEB PRELIMS... CLL ET 058/077 065/079 3345 IAH ET 063/078 068/080 6345 GLS ET 068/076 069/077 6445 .HGX...SCA FOR ALL UPPER TX COAST.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 1:00 PM CST, 2 hours 44 minutes before
TXZ163-040000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 100 PM CST SAT APR 3 1999 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM FOR HOUSTON COUNTY... A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE DRYLINE PRODUCED AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY THAT HAS BEEN SPEEDING EASTWARD. THIS OUTFLOW BOUNDARY WILL BE MOVING INTO A MOIST AND INCREASINGLY MORE UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP RAPIDLY...SPAWNING TORNADOES AND DAMAGING MICROBURST WINDS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO WESTERN HOUSTON COUNTY AROUND 2 PM. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE ISOLATED TORNADOES AND DAMAGING WINDS...BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THE WATCH AREA EXTENDS GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTHEAST OF A LINE FROM FAIRFIELD TO NACOGDOCHES. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER NEWS SOURCES FOR THE LATEST STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2:07 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Colorado | 38 min |
| Apr 3, 3:00 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Montgomery, Walker | 30 min |
| Apr 3, 3:56 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 64 min |
| Apr 3, 4:01 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 29 min |
| Apr 3, 4:38 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Polk, San Jacinto | 67 min |
| Apr 3, 5:30 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Polk, San Jacinto | 3 hr |
| Apr 3, 5:45 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Polk, San Jacinto | 45 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.