Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2001
Tornado Warning 27, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Oct 12, 2001, 4:45 PM CDT for Liberty County, Texas. It was in force for 45 min. 1 report 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
- Oct 12, 2001, 4:45 PM CDT (21:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 12, 2001, 5:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 45 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
County Liberty County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 70 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 4:52 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Dayton, TX | Sheriff's office reported a tornado touched down near FM 686 and FM 321 and moved east toward Highway 90. Damage to a business and the roof of a trailer was reported, as well as trees and power lines down. |
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, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 166 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
- 534 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -35 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 474 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 26 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 86 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 135 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
750 WFUS54 KHGX 122145 TORHOU TXC291-122230- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 445 PM CDT FRI OCT 12 2001 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... LIBERTY COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS * UNTIL 530 PM CDT * AT 440 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 7 MILES WEST OF DAYTON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. * LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE... DAYTON KENEFICK LIBERTY DAYTON LAKES...AMES DRIVERS SHOULD LOOK FOR STRONG SHELTER. AS A LAST RESORT...TAKE COVER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT. OVERPASSES ARE NOT SAFE 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 3009 9507 2994 9497 3005 9470 3025 9484
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 12, 2:30 PM CDT, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 12, 2:30 PM CDT, 2 hours 15 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
230 PM CDT FRI OCT 12 2001
KHGX LIGHTING UP WITH CONVECTION IN THE LAST 15 MINUTES. THE MAIN
FORECAST ISSUES ARE SEVERE/HEAVY RAIN THREAT THROUGH SAT AM. THE 12Z
NCEP MODELS ARE IN POOR AGREEMENT...INCLUDING THE FWC/MAV GUIDANCE.
OVERALL PREFER THE ETA. WILL BLEND MAV/FWC FOR MOST PERIODS.
DESPITE SIGNIFICANT MODEL CHANGES...OLD FASHIONED TECHNIQUES SUCH AS
PRESSURE/HEIGHT FALLS SEEM TO SERVE THE FORECAST BEST. NO MAJOR
CHANGES OTHER THAN TO PUSH BACK TIMING OF THE SQUALL LINE TO 08-14Z
(3-9 AM) FOR MOST OF THE CWA. CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON HAS THE
POTENTIAL FOR MINI-SUPERCELLS WITH ISOLD TORNADOES AND DAMAGING
WINDS AS OCCURRED ON THU. THE CHAMBERS COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED A
FUNNEL CLOUD 7N OF WINNIE AT 155 PM.
OTHERWISE DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...ISOLD TORNADOES...AND HEAVY
RAIN/FLOODING ARE ALL POSSIBLE WITH THE SQUALL LINE TONIGHT. WILL
RETAIN FFA/RIVER FLOOD WATCH AND SEVERE MENTION. MARINE FORECAST
WILL UPGRADE TO SCA FOR ALL WATERS AS THE LLJ AND INFLOW BOOT WINDS
TONIGHT.
.HGX...FFA ALL ZONES TONIGHT.
RIVER FA SAN JACINTO/SAN BERNARD/TRES PALACIOS BASINS.
SCA BAYS AND 0-60NM GULF WATERS.
31/47/WT
PRELIMS...
CLL EU 064/070 050/077 055 +40
IAH TU 072/075 052/076 054 +60
GLS TU 076/076 062/074 065 880In the hours before
Special weather statement, Oct 12, 3:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 20 minutes before
GMZ330-335-350-355-370-375-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227 -235>238-131000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 325 PM CDT FRI OCT 12 2001 ...SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK EXPECTED ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS TONIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY... ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS TONIGHT... A VERY STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL IMPACT SOUTHEAST TEXAS TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP INTO NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS THIS EVENING. THE COMBINATION OF WINDS TURNING AND STRENGTHENING WITH HEIGHT IN THE ATMOSPHERE...A VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS AT THE SURFACE...AND COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT WILL LEAD TO A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF SEVERE WEATHER LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY AS THE STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES SOUTHEAST TEXAS. DAMAGING WINDS... TORNADOES AND LARGE HAIL ARE ALL POSSIBLE. A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE LINE WILL ALSO BE A THREAT. THOUGH SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE VIRTUALLY ALL NIGHT THE MAIN THREAT APPEARS TO BE BETWEEN 11 PM AND 6 AM FOR THE COLLEGE STATION AREA AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...3 AM TO 9 AM FOR HOUSTON METRO AND CENTRAL PORTIONS...4 AM TO 10 AM FOR COASTAL AND EASTERN PORTIONS. VERY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO EXPECTED WITH THE STORMS TONIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL AVERAGE 1 TO 3 INCHES WITH ISOLATED TOTALS OF 5 INCHES POSSIBLE BY LATE SATURDAY MORNING. FLOODING OF LOW LYING ROADS AND FEEDERS WILL PROBABLY BE THE MAIN PROBLEM. THOUGH MOST PRECIPITATION WILL BE BE OVER BY NOON SATURDAY...THE UPPER LOW PRESSURE AREA AND ASSOCIATED VERY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL MOVE OVERHEAD DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. RESIDUAL MOISTURE MAY CAUSE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THAT WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL PRODUCE LARGE HAIL. THOUGH IT IS A FAIRLY LOW PROBABILITY...PORTIONS ALONG AND EAST OF I-45 WILL SEE THE BETTER CHANCES OF THIS HAPPENING. SINCE MANY OF THE STORMS WILL OCCUR WHEN PEOPLE ARE SLEEPING...IT WOULD BE WISE TO MAKE SURE YOUR WEATHER RADIO IS TURNED ON SO YOU WILL HEAR ANY WARNINGS THAT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES FOR YOUR AREA. THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE OBTAINED FROM YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET. REMEMBER...THE BEST PLACE TO BE IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OR TORNADO IS INSIDE A REINFORCED STRUCTURE AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 4:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris | 37 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.