Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

April 16, 2001Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 16, 2001, 3:49 PM CDT for Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, Texas. It was in force for 26 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: Apr 16, 2001, 3:49 PM CDT (20:49 UTC)
Expired: Apr 16, 2001, 4:15 PM CDT
In force: 26 min
Issued by: NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Brazoria County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:50 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
Apr 16, 4:05 PM CDT	Hail 2.75	Missouri City, TX

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, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 221 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1303 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -36 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 586 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 38 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KHGX 162049
TORHOU
TXC039-157-162115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
349 PM CDT MON APR 16 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 415 PM CDT

* AT 345 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF
  PRODUCING A TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF FRESNO...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT
  10 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE...
  FRESNO...MISSOURI CITY...ARCOLA
  JULIFF
  MANVEL...IOWA COLONY

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 2949 9524 2959 9535 2957 9541 2964 9555
          2937 9554

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 Apr 16, 2:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 16, 2:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before

SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
225 PM CDT MON APR 16 2001

QUICK DISCUSSION THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO SEVERE STORMS.

VERY SHORT TERM...SEE THE 940 AM DISCUSSION IT'S HAPPENING NOW.
QUARTER TO GOLFBALL-SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN WINNIE BETWEEN 205 AND 220
PM.

LATER TONIGHT AND TUE...PREFER AND AVN/ETA BLEND...THEN THE ETA OUT
TO 60 HR AS THE AVN OVERPLAYS THE SECONDARY SHORTWAVE IN THE NW FLOW
ON WED. FWC/MAV TEMPS SEEMS A BIT TOO WARM FROM TUE AFT-THU AM.
GRUMM/HART ANOMALIES ARE AROUND 2 STD BELOW THE MEAN...WHICH SHOULD
GENERATE HIGHS IN THE MID TO UPPER 60S AND LOWS IN THE LOWER 40S
INLAND.

EXTENDED...THE MRF IS MOSTLQY ON TRACK...NO POPS WED-SAT...SLIGHT
CHANCE SUN/MON.

.HGX...NONE.

31/47/DO

PRELIMS...
CLL CB 055/066 044/068 050 530
IAH CB 057/068 045/068 050 530
GLS CB 066/070 055/067 058 530

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 16, 10:15 AM CDT, 5 hours 34 minutes before

TXZ199-200-210>214-226-227-235>238-170000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1015 AM CDT MON APR 16 2001

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY
EVENING FOR A PORTION OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE SOUTHERN HALF
OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING. THE PRIMARY
THREAT AREA IS ALONG AND SOUTH OF U.S. HIGHWAY 90 EAST OF HOUSTON...
AND U.S. HIGHWAY 290 WEST OF HOUSTON. THIS INCLUDES ALL OF METRO
HOUSTON AND OTHER CITIES SUCH AS RICHMOND/ROSENBERG...GALVESTON...
ANGLETON...FREEPORT...WHARTON...EDNA...BAY CITY...AND PALACIOS. THE
MAIN THREAT TIME IS NOON TO 7 PM...AND THE PRINCIPAL SEVERE THREAT IS
LARGE HAIL.

A COLD FRONT ALONG A BRENHAM TO BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL TO LIBERTY
LINE WILL SLOWLY DRIFT SOUTH TODAY. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE
ALREADY DEVELOPED ALONG THE EAST END OF THE FRONT AT MID MORNING...
AND MORE ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AS DAYTIME HEATING AND SLIGHTLY
STRONGER WIND SHEAR DEVELOP OVER THE AREA. THE FREEZING ALTITUDE IS
HIGH ENOUGH THAT MINIMALLY SEVERE HAIL IS THE MAIN THREAT.

THE SEVERE THREAT IS LIMITEFD...BUT EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM
SPOTTERS MAY BE ACTIVATED THIS AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER
RADIO OR OTHER NEWS SOURCES FOR THE LATEST FORECAST...STATEMENTS...AND
POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

31/JWZ

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 15, 7:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Brazos, Grimes	26 min
Apr 15, 8:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Grimes, Montgomery	38 min
Apr 15, 8:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Burleson, Washington	55 min
Apr 15, 8:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Montgomery	43 min
Apr 15, 9:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Harris	36 min
Apr 15, 9:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Austin, Washington	46 min
Apr 16, 1:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Chambers	50 min
Apr 16, 2:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Chambers	60 min
Apr 16, 2:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Harris	54 min
Apr 16, 3:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Grimes, Washington	27 min
Apr 16, 3:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Brazoria, Fort Bend, Harris	51 min
Apr 16, 3:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Waller	56 min
Apr 16, 4:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Grimes, Washington	30 min
Apr 16, 4:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Brazoria, Fort Bend	44 min
Apr 16, 4:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Harris, Waller	63 min
Apr 16, 5:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Brazoria, Fort Bend	60 min
Apr 16, 6:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Polk	33 min

Nearby

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