Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 26, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

October 11, 2001Brazoria County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Oct 11, 2001, 10:50 AM CDT for Brazoria County, Texas. It was in force for 40 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
Oct 11, 2001, 10:50 AM CDT (15:50 UTC)
Expired
Oct 11, 2001, 11:30 AM CDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Brazoria County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:52 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
Oct 11, 8:00 AM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 240 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 12:00Z on 2001-10-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1805 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 12:00Z on 2001-10-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 95 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
1805 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
496 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
95 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
120 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
5.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

419 
WFUS54 KHGX 111551
TORHOU
TXC039-111630-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1050 AM CDT THU OCT 11 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 1130 AM CDT

* AT 1047 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF
  PRODUCING A TORNADO 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF JONES CREEK...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE...
  JONES CREEK
  LAKE JACKSON
  CLUTE...RICHWOOD
  OYSTER CREEK

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 2897 9558 2889 9544 2915 9506 2935 9519

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 Oct 11, 9:05 AM CDT, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 11, 9:05 AM CDT, 1 hour 45 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
905 AM CDT THU OCT 11 2001

MINI-SUPERCELLS CONTINUE ACROSS SERN TX. TV COVERAGE EARLIER CLEARLY
SHOWED A ROTATING WALL CLOUD AND FUNNEL WITH ONE STORM. RADAR
SIGNATURES WILL CONTINUE TO BE INCONCLUSIVE. HOWEVER...STORM MOTIONS
TOWARD THE NNE (010-030 DEGREES) AND TWO-GATE VELOCITY COUPLETS SEEM
TO BE THE BEST PREDICTORS. UPDATED THE ZONES FORECASTS TO ADD THE
TORNADO WATCH.

.HGX...NONE.

31/47/38/42/WT

PRELIMS...
CLL TE 083/066 088/060 078 833
IAH TE 084/068 087/065 080 833
GLS TE 083/075 083/072 081 843

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 11, 7:51 AM CDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-111800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
751 AM CDT THU OCT 11 2001

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 100 PM...

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR SOUTHEAST
TEXAS UNTIL 100 PM THIS AFTERNOON. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
CONTINUE TO DEVELOP SOUTH OF A COLD FRONT THAT EXTENDS JUST SOUTH OF
A LINE FROM CHILDRESS TO HONDO. THE ATMOSPHERE IS DESTABILIZING SOUTH
OF THIS LINE...AND CAUSING THE THUNDERSTORMS TO INCREASE IN
INTENSITY.

THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE INCLUDED IN THE WATCH...
HOUSTON...TRINITY...POLK...MADISON...WALKER...BRAZOS...SAN
JACINTO...GRIMES...BURLESON...MONTGOMERY...LIBERTY...
WASHINGTON...WALLER...HARRIS...AUSTIN...COLORADO...FORT
BEND...WHARTON...JACKSON...CHAMBERS...BRAZORIA...GALVESTON AND
MATAGORDA.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER WEATHER NEWS SOURCES FOR
FURTHER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 11, 7:29 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXHarris46 min
Oct 11, 8:15 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXHarris60 min
Oct 11, 8:36 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXMontgomery, Walker39 min
Oct 11, 9:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMontgomery45 min
Oct 11, 9:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris45 min
Oct 11, 10:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris, Liberty, Montgomery45 min
Oct 11, 10:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Liberty45 min
Oct 11, 12:11 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningHGX2 hr
Oct 11, 12:11 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningHGX2 hr
Oct 11, 6:11 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningHGX2 hr
Oct 11, 6:11 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningHGX2 hr

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.