Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

August 30, 2001Galveston County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Aug 30, 2001, 5:57 AM CDT for Galveston County, Texas. It was in force for 48 min. No storm report in the archive falls 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.

The facts

Issued
Aug 30, 2001, 5:57 AM CDT (10:57 UTC)
Expired
Aug 30, 2001, 6:45 AM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Galveston County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:59 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 00:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 148 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 2001-08-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 909 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 2001-08-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -10 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
909 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
606 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
32 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.

928 
WFUS54 KHGX 301059
TORHOU
TXC167-301145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
557 AM CDT THU AUG 30 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  GALVESTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS

* UNTIL 645 AM CDT

* AT 557 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
LIKELY CONTAINING A WATERSPOUT 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF 
GILCHRIST...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. THIS WATERSPOUT WILL LIKELY 
MOVE ONSHORE BECOMING A TORNADO. 

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE...
  GILCHRIST
  HIGH ISLAND

MOVE TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON YOUR CAR
OR MOBILE HOME FOR A STRONG SHELTER NOW

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.

LAT...LON 2950 9464 2937 9450 2954 9437 2959 9441

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 Aug 30, 2:42 AM CDT, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 30, 2:42 AM CDT, 3 hours 15 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
240 AM CDT THU AUG 29 2001

MORE RAIN ON TAP FOR SE TX. REASONING REMAINS THE SAME AS THE PAST
SEVERAL DAYS. FOR THOSE THAT HAVENT BEEN KEEPING UP, JUNKERS
DISCUSSIONS (QPFERD & QPFPFD) SUM THINGS UP NICELY.

GOOD PRECIP COVERAGE SHOWING UP ON THE 88D WITH A LARGE SURGE GETTING
READY TO MOVE ONSHORE. SAT PIX ONCE AGAIN SHOWS SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE
ALL THE WAY DOWN TO TAMPICO. MODELS SEEM TO HAVE A GOOD HANDLE OF
THE SITUATION. WAS CONCERNED LAST NIGHT ABOUT PRECIP COVERAGE
ETA/AVN WERE PAINTING DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS (RIGHT NOW) SINCE
PRIOR TO NOW, IT WAS MORE DIURNAL IN NATURE. HOWEVER, BOTH VERIFIED
NICELY AND WILL AGAIN ACCEPT THEIR SOLN FOR ANOTHER ROUND DURING THE
OVERNIGHT HOURS TONIGHT.

WITHOUT A LLVL BOUNDARY TO FOCUS ON, A PERSISTENT LIGHT TO MODERATE
RAIN HAS BEEN THE RULE WHICH HASNT POSED MUCH OF A SIGNIFICANT
FLASH FLOOD THREAT AS OF YET. BUT GROUND IS FAIRLY SATURATED AND ANY
PERSISTENT HEAVY RAIN OVER ANY GIVEN LOCATION COULD LEAD TO SOME
PROBLEMS. LOOKING AT THE 3 DAY STORM TOTAL PRECIP OFF THE 88D...
REALLY CONCERNED WITH THE SWRN COASTAL COUNTIES (FOR OBVIOUS
REASONS) AND THE NORTHERN TIER OF COUNTIES (CLOSER TO THE RRQ OF
JET). AS FAR AS THE FFA...WILL REISSUE ANOTHER ONE FOR TODAY AND LET
THE DAY CREW MAKE A DECISION ON WHAT TO DO WITH IT AFTER THAT.

EXTENDED: THE TROF DOES LOOK TO MAKE SOME SLOW EWD MOVEMENT INTO THE
WEEKEND POSSIBLY SHIFTING THE HEAVY RAIN THREAT A LITTLE FURTHER
EAST. NW PORTIONS MAY (EMPHASIS ON MAY) SEE A LITTLE DRIER WX THIS
WEEKEND, BUT REST OF THE AREA LOOKS TO REMAIN UNDER THE GUN. FRONTAL
BOUNDARY PULLS UP STATIONARY ACROSS NRN PORTIONS LATE SATURDAY AND
PERSISTS FOR SOME TIME AND WITH MOISTURE STILL HANGING AROUND...YOU
KNOW THE STORY.

MARINE: NO FLAGS ATTM BUT BOATING NOT RECOMMENDED. NUMEROUS TSTMS
WILL PRODUCE OCCASIONAL GUSTS >30KT AND HIGH SEAS.

47/43

.HGX...FFA ALL CWA.

PRELIMS...
CLL TT 082/073 084/073 089 +68
IAH TT 080/073 083/074 086 +89
GLS TT 081/077 083/078 086 ++9

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 30, 5:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Galveston53 min
Aug 30, 6:29 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXBrazoria, Galveston, Harris46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2001Every tornado warning in 2001Tornadoes in 2001

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.