Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 34, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

March 13, 2003Wharton County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 13, 2003, 7:38 PM CST for Wharton County, Texas. It was in force for 37 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 13, 2003, 7:38 PM CST (01:38 UTC)
Expired
Mar 13, 2003, 8:15 PM CST
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Wharton County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:41 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.

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

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 389 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 2003-03-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1599 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 2003-03-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 53 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
1599 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-64 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
948 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
53 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

497 
WUUS54 KHGX 140138
SVRHOU
TXC481-140215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
736 PM CST THU MAR 13 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LEAGUE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WHARTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS

* UNTIL 815 PM CST

* AT 726 PM CST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 2   
MILES SOUTHEAST OF WHARTON...MOVING SOUTH AT 20 TO 25 MPH.
WHARTON CITY POLICE REPORTED GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL IN THE CITY OF 
WHARTON AT 730 PM. THE STORM HAS WEAKENED SLIGHTLY BUT IS STILL 
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING NICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL.

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM INCLUDE...        
  WHARTON
  DANEVANG

MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR
BUSINESS. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

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 2903 9624 2916 9600 2929 9592 2949 9612

$$

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 Mar 13, 3:10 PM CST, 4 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 3:10 PM CST, 4 hours 28 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
310 PM CST THU MAR 13 2003

HAVE ADJUSTED POPS FOR 1ST PERIOD TO CHANCE CENTRAL ZONES THIS EVENING
AS AIR MASS STILL UNSTABLE ENOUGH FOR CONVECTION AHEAD OF UPPER
TROUGH. WILL ALSO MENTION ISOLATED EARLY EVENING SHRA/TSRA NORTHERN
ZONES.

37/47

145 PM DISCUSSION...
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO REDEVELOP OVER CHAMBERS COUNTY PAST TWO HOURS
DUMPING 3 TO 6 INCHES ALONG INTERSTATE 10 CORRIDOR BETWEEN MONT BELVIEU
AND HANKAMER. CONVECTION OVER CWFA MAINLY CONFINED ALONG AND SOUTH
OF LIBERTY...EAGLE LAKE LINE. 850 MB TROUGH LINE WILL GRADUALLY SHIFT
TOWARDS THE COAST BY THIS EVENING SHIFING STRONGER STORMS TO THE
COASTAL WATERS. WEAK SUBSIDENCE EXPECTED OVER REGION LATER TONIGHT AS
BACKSIDE OF UPPER TROUGH APPROACHES. WE DO NOT EXPECT WIDESPREAD FOG
TONIGHT AS DRIER AIR SLOWLY FILTER IN OVERNIGHT W/LIGHT NORTHEAST
WINDS. COASTAL SECTIONS...HOWEVER MAY SEE A REDEVELOPMENT DESPITE
ONGOING MIXING AT THIS TIME. BUT FOR NOW WE WILL MENTION AREAS OF
FOG CENTRAL AND SOUTH FOR TONIGHT. EVENING SHIFT WILL HAVE TO CLOSELY
MONITOR DENSE FOG POTENTIAL AND ADVISORY MAY STILL HAVE TO BE ISSUED
LATER THIS EVENING. PW VALUES LOWERING TO AN INCH OR LESS FRIDAY
WITH DRYING TREND CONTINUING THROUGH THE WEEKEND. GFS INDICATE SOME
MOISTURE INCREASE WESTERN ZONES SUNDAY AS ISENTROPIC LIFT PICKS UP
OVER CENTRAL TEXAS. CHANCE OF PRECIP RETURNING MONDAY IN RESPONSE TO
APPROACHING AND DEVELOPING UPPER TROUGH FROM WESTERN CONUS. HIGHLY
AMPLIFIED UPPER TROUGH MOVING ACROSS CONUS TUESDAY AS PREVIOUSLY
ADVERTISED. TROUGH LINE WILL BE EAST OF REGION WEDNESDAY WITH RESULTANT
DRYING TREND. LAST TWO DAYS OF EXTENDED FORECAST SHOULD BE PRECIP
FREE. MARINE REGION WILL SEE CONVECTION DIMINISHING LATE TONIGHT AND
EARY FRIDAY. OTHERWISE...NO FLAGS ANTICIPATED FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

37/47

.HGX...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH TIL 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON FOR
       PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

CLL BB 057/078 051/078 054 2-
IAH BB 059/077 053/078 056 31
GLS BB 062/072 061/073 062 41
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 13, 7:00 AM CST, 12 hours 38 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-141300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
700 AM CST THU MAR 13 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE TODAY AND
THIS EVENING ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

A DENSE FOG ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM FOR AREAS GENERALLY
ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM LIVINGSTON TO CONROE TO BELLVILLE.

A VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE IS IN PLACE OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS
TODAY. AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND BOUNDARY FROM
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS
MORNING WILL TRIGGER THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER THE AREA TODAY.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE DUE TO THE VERY COLD TEMPERATURES
AND DRY AIR IN THE MIDDLE LAYER OF THE ATMOSPHERE. THE PRIMARY
SEVERE WEATHER THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.

LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE A THREAT DUE TO SLOW MOVING STORMS AND
VERY HIGH MOISTURE LEVELS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO AVERAGE A
HALF TO ONE INCH ACROSS THE AREA WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF THREE INCHES
POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER TODAY.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 13, 6:26 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris49 min
Mar 13, 6:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXFort Bend, Wharton65 min
Mar 13, 8:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMatagorda, Wharton64 min
Mar 13, 9:13 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMatagorda47 min
Mar 13, 9:38 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXJackson52 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 2003Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2003

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.