Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2000
Tornado Warning 11, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at May 2, 2000, 2:27 AM CDT for Austin County, Fort Bend County, Waller County, Texas. It was in force for 33 min. 3 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
- May 2, 2000, 2:27 AM CDT (07:27 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 2000, 3:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 33 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Austin County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Waller County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2:55 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Wallis, TX | Crops destroyed from Wallis to the Ft. Bend county line. |
| May 2, 2:55 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Richmond, TX | Numerous trees and signs blown down in area. Small building destroyed at Cottonwood with barn blown down on Psencik Road. Power poles down at Cottonwood and on Band Road. |
| May 2, 3:10 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Orchard, TX | At least 12,000 acres of crops destroyed by hail and high winds. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 1:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
| May 2, 2:00 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 265 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
- 1208 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -50 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 805 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 66 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 170 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.1
- Supercell composite
- 4.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WFUS54 KHGX 020728 TORHOU TXC015-157-473-020800- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 227 AM CDT TUE MAY 2 2000 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... WALLER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS AUSTIN COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORT BEND COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS * UNTIL 300 AM CDT * AT 224 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES NORTH OF WALLIS...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH. * LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE... ORCHARD...SIMONTON BROOKSHIRE FULSHEAR MISSION BEND...PECAN GROVE THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION! QUICK ACTION MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE. MOVE TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. 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 REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE COUNTY SHERIFF...LOCAL POLICE... OR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
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 May 1, 9:11 PM CDT, 5 hours 16 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 1, 9:11 PM CDT, 5 hours 16 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 911 PM CDT MON MAY 1 2000 UPPER LOW WAS CURRENTLY OVER THE CENTRAL KS/OK BORDER. SHORTWAVE TROUGH WAS ALSO PUSHING AROUND THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE LOW...MOVING INTO SOUTHERN TEXAS. AREA SOUNDINGS...INCLUDING THE ACARS/MAPS SOUNDING FOR IAH...ALL SHOW CAPES NEAR OR EXCEEDING 3000 FOR MUCH OF SETX. WITH THIS IN MIND FEEL THAT THE HIGH POPS FOR THE AREA ARE WARRANTED...INCLUDING THE MENTION OF SEVERE AND HEAVY RAINFALL. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING JUST WEST OF GRK AT THE MOMENT. THESE STORMS WERE DEVELOPING ALONG A SURFACE TROUGH/OUTFLOW BOUNDARY. SURFACE DEWPOINTS ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY WERE IN THE MID 60S. ALSO...SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS WERE FEEDING GULF MOISTURE INTO THE DEVELOPING STORMS. A SIDE NOTE...THE HGX VWP WAS SHOWING SOUTHWEST WINDS NEAR THE SURFACE...MORE THAN LIKELY THE RESULT OF MIGRATING BIRDS CONTAMINATING THE ALGORITHM RESULTS. SO...THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER IS THAT ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED. WILL NOT GO WITH A FLASH FLOOD WATCH AT THIS TIME...THOUGH RAINFALL AMOUNTS COULD REACH 1 INCH OR SO OVER A WIDE AREA. LOCATIONS THAT LOOK TO GET THE HEAVIER RAIN AMOUNTS WILL BE THE FAR NORTHERN COUNTIES OF THE FORECAST AREA. TEMPERATURES AND WINDS ARE THE MOST DIFFICULT OF THE VARIABLES TO FORECAST TONIGHT. GIVEN THE CURRENT DEWPOINTS FEEL THAT THE FORECAST MINS ARE OKAY. WINDS ARE ANOTHER MATTER. VARIABLE TO SOUTHEAST WINDS SHOULD OCCUR AHEAD OF THE THUNDERSTORMS...WITH NORTH WINDS IN ITS WAKE. WILL ONLY MAKE MINOR CHANGES TO THE COASTAL FORECAST. .KHGX...NONE. PL-40 45
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 2, 1:35 AM CDT, 52 minutes before
GMZ330-TXZ197-210>212-226-227-235>237-021159- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 135 AM CDT TUE MAY 2 2000 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT ALONG AND SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM BRENHAM TO BROOKSHIRE TO RICHMOND TO NEAR ALVIN TIL 7 AM. THIS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...WALLER...JACKSON...COLORADO... WASHINGTON...BRAZORIA...AUSTIN...WHARTON...MATAGORDA AND FORT BEND. A UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN OVER THE WATCH AREA THIS MORNING. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE OVER THE AREA LEADING TO THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE WEATHER. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. AND CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES SOMETIMES WITH LITTLE ADVANCE NOTICE. MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER RELIABLE WEATHER NEWS SOURCES FOR THE LATEST WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 9:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Burleson | 65 min |
| May 1, 10:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazos | 46 min |
| May 1, 11:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Grimes | 24 min |
| May 1, 11:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery, Walker | 60 min |
| May 2, 1:22 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery, Waller | 68 min |
| May 2, 1:39 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Austin, Colorado | 66 min |
| May 2, 1:47 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 28 min |
| May 2, 2:03 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Harris, Waller | 42 min |
| May 2, 2:36 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Harris | 39 min |
| May 2, 2:44 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Liberty, San Jacinto | 46 min |
| May 2, 3:06 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Fort Bend | 54 min |
| May 2, 3:14 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Harris, Liberty | 46 min |
| May 2, 3:25 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Galveston | 65 min |
| May 2, 3:53 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Liberty | 52 min |
| May 2, 4:14 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Matagorda | 46 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2000Every tornado warning in 2000Tornadoes in 2000
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.