Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 90, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

August 23, 2002Fort Bend County, Harris County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 23, 2002, 4:27 PM CDT for Fort Bend County, Harris County, Texas. It was in force for 52 hr. 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
Aug 23, 2002, 4:27 PM CDT (21:27 UTC)
Expired
Aug 25, 2002, 8:45 PM CDT
In force
52 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Fort Bend County, TX, Harris County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:27 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 23, 4:28 PM CDTHail 1Houston, TXDime to quarter size hail across Houston area.

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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 234 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 2002-08-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1866 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 2002-08-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 19 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
1866 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
814 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
19 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 23, 2:00 PM CDT, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 2:00 PM CDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
200 PM CDT FRI AUG 23 2002

SUBSIDENCE MUCH STRONGER THAN FORECAST AND PRECIP REALLY HAVING A
HARD TIME GETTING GOING. W-SW SFC WINDS ARENT HELPING MUCH EITHER.
SINCE MODELS CONTINUE TO FORECAST A DRYING TREND AND CONSIDERING
TODAYS NON EVENT...WILL TREND TOWARD GUIDANCE AND ACCEPT LOW POP
FORECAST FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEKEND. STILL HAVE SOME CONCERN
FOR SUNDAY AS WESTERN RIDGE AMPLIFIES AND EASTERN TROUGH DEEPENS.
THIS ALLOWS A NORTHERLY UPPER FLOW TO DEVELOP. A VORT LOBE ROTATING
AROUND THE EDGE OF THE HIGH COULD IMPACT PARTS OF SE TX ON SUN.
ADDITIONAL ENERGY COULD TRIGGER MORE TSRA MON-TUE...MAINLY
OVER THE NORTHEAST ZONES IN ADDITION...A SFC FRONT WILL SAG INTO THE
NORTHEASTERN ZONES MONDAY MORNING SERVING AS A FOCUS FOR GREATER
RAIN CHANCES OVER THE NORTHEAST. WILL DROP POPS WED-FRI AS RIDGE
BLOCKS SYSTEMS FROM THE NORTH AND EAST. MARINE STAYS QUIET...NO
FLAGS.  43/47

.HGX...NONE.

PRELIMS...
CLL BB 075/098 074/099 073 21-
IAH BB 075/095 075/096 075 22-
GLS BB 081/090 081/091 080 221

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

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.