Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2001
Tornado Warning 38, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Dec 16, 2001, 4:52 PM CST for Montgomery County, San Jacinto County, Walker County, Texas. It was in force for 38 min. 1 report 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
- Dec 16, 2001, 4:52 PM CST (22:52 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 16, 2001, 5:30 PM CST
- In force
- 38 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Montgomery County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX, Walker County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 123 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:54 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 16, 5:29 PM CST | Tornado F2 | Pointblank, TX | An F2 Tornado touched down at the Point Lookout West Estates. There were 2 minor injuries. 15 homes were destroyed, with 15 to 20 other homes receiving major damage. Trees and power lines were down. Reported by the Sheriff's office. |
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, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 218 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
- 1253 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 447 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 194 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 237 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.2
- Supercell composite
- 8.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
901 WFUS54 KHGX 162253 TORHOU TXC339-407-471-162330- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 452 PM CST SUN DEC 16 2001 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... WALKER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS SAN JACINTO COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS EXTREME NORTHEAST MONTGOMERY COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS * UNTIL 530 PM CST * AT 449 PM CST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 6 MILES EAST OF NEW WAVERLY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. * LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE... NEW WAVERLY OAKHURST POINT BLANK...RIVERSIDE 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.
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 Dec 16, 2:28 PM CST, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 2:28 PM CST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
228 PM CST SUN DEC 16 2001
SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE AND INTENSITY HAS BEGUN TO INCREASE
ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON. AT THIS TIME...
THE GREATEST CONCENTRATION IS STILL UP IN FTWS COUNTY WARNING AREA
WHERE THE BEST TRAINING IS OCCURRING. AS THE UPPER LOW NOW OUT IN
WEST TEXAS CONTINUES TO MOVE TO THE EAST...MID AND UPPER LEVEL
FORCING IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE ACROSS OUR AREA...ESPECIALLY IN OUR
NORTHERN ZONES CLOSER TO THE WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY. THIS WILL RESULT
IN A GREATER THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DUE TO PRETTY DECENT
SHEAR. STILL THINK WE CAN GET SOME SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP
BEHIND THE MAIN SQUALL LINE THAT IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATER THIS
AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. LAPSE RATES WILL BE STEEPENING AS THE
UPPER LOW PROGRESSES CLOSER TO OUR AREA...AND OUR EXTREMELY MOIST
AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS MAY BECOME MORE SUPPORTIVE OF SEVERE STORMS.
WILL KEEP THE MENTION OF SEVERE STORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IN
ALL ZONES FOR TONIGHT. SEVERE THREAT WILL BE GONE BY MORNING...BUT
IT IS STILL POSSIBLE SOME SHOWERS MAY LINGER ACROSS THE AREA AROUND
AND SHORTLY AFTER SUNRISE. AFTER MONDAY...DO NOT EXPECT THE RETURN
FLOW TO BE SUFFICIENT FOR ANY POPS WITH THE NEXT FRONTAL PASSAGE ON
WEDNESDAY. THIS FRONT WILL REINFORCE OUR COOL NIGHTS AND MILD DAYS.
THEN BEGINNING ON FRIDAY...A RETURN FLOW DOES BEGIN AS THE NEXT
UPPER LOW DEVELOPS OUT WEST. THERE IS MUCH UNCERTAINTY AS TO HOW
STRONG/HOW DEEP/HOW FAST THIS NEXT UPPER LOW WILL BE. FOR NOW...WILL
CONTINUE TO CALL FOR MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES AND A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. LOOKS LIKE A MUCH COLDER AND
DRIER AIRMASS MIGHT BE HERE IN TIME FOR THE WEEK OF CHRISTMAS.
42/35/39
.HGX...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT TIL 7 PM FOR NORTHERN COUNTIES.
SCA ALL WATERS TONIGHT.
PRELIMS...
CLL BU 048/063 038/066 042 810
IAH BU 052/064 040/066 042 820
GLS BU 057/062 048/064 052 830In the hours before
Special weather statement, Dec 16, 2:00 PM CST, 2 hours 52 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176-177-198-170100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 200 PM CST SUN DEC 16 2001 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CST... A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 700 PM THIS EVENING. THE WATCH COVERS PARTS OF EAST TEXAS...IN THE VICINITY OF A WARM FRONT...NEAR WHICH THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY. THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE INCLUDED IN THE WATCH...GRIMES... HOUSTON...MADISON...TRINITY...AND WALKER. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEGUN DEVELOPING ACROSS PORTIONS OF EAST TEXAS... IN ADVANCE OF AN APPROACHING UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH. THE INCREASED LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH SHOULD ALLOW THE STORMS TO INCREASE IN INTENSITY AND AREAL COVERAGE. THE SURFACE FRONT...STRONG LOW-LEVEL WINDS...THE MOVEMENT OF THE UPPER TROUGH...AS WELL AS THE SHEAR RESULTING FROM THESE FEATURES...WILL CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT FAVORABLE FOR ROTATING STORMS. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS TO THE WEST HAVE ALREADY SHOWN SIGNS OF ROTATION. THIS MEANS SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES... ARE POSSIBLE...IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. BE ALERT FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL IN THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OR TORNADO...MOVE INSIDE TO A REINFORCED STRUCTURE AWAY FROM WINDOWS. REPORT DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT...AND ASK THEM TO RELAY THE MESSAGE TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. ALSO BE ALERT FOR HEAVY RAIN THAT WILL CAUSE HIGH STANDING WATER ON ROADS AND IN AREAS OF POOR DRAINAGE. DO NOT DRIVE INTO AREAS WITH HIGH WATER. A COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE REGION TONIGHT...ENDING THE PRECIPITATION. DRIER AND COOLER WEATHER WILL ACCOMPANY THE ARRIVAL OF THE WORKWEEK. 39
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 16, 5:26 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Polk, Trinity | 49 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.