Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 76, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

May 1, 2003Madison County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 1, 2003, 11:00 PM CDT for Madison County, Texas. It was in force for 30 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
May 1, 2003, 11:00 PM CDT (04:00 UTC)
Expired
May 1, 2003, 11:30 PM CDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Madison County, TX

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

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 245 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2003-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3112 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2003-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -24 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
3112 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1199 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.3
Supercell composite
-1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KHGX 020400
SVRHOU
TXC313-020430-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1100 PM CDT THU MAY 1 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LEAGUE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN MADISON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS

* UNTIL 1130 PM CDT

* AT 1059 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5   
MILES EAST OF MADISONVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

AT 1030 PM CDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED 1/2 INCH SIZED HAIL AND 
TREES DOWNED IN AND AROUND MADISONVILLE. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING 
WINDS ARE STILL POSSIBLE WITH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ACROSS 
EXTREME EASTERN MADISON COUNTY.

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 3111 9590 3088 9590 3092 9567 3108 9569

$$

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 May 1, 8:51 PM CDT, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 8:51 PM CDT, 2 hours 9 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
851 PM CDT THU MAY 1 2003

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HOLDING TOGETHER JUST A FEW COUNTIES OUTSIDE
OUR COUNTY WARNING AREA. ACTIVITY CONTINUES TO MAKE SLOW PROGRESS
TOWARDS OUR AREA. WILL UPDATE THE ZONES TO MENTION SEVERE AND RAISE
POPS IN OUR NORTHERN COUNTIES AND UPDATE OUR HAZARDOUS WEATHER
OUTLOOK. EXPECT ACTIVITY TO GRADUALLY WEAKEN DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL
HOURS.

.HGX...NONE.

UPDATED PRELIMS...
CLL EB 070/087 069/090 068 523
IAH EB 070/087 069/090 069 222
GLS EB 072/083 072/084 072 222

-------------------------------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION (255 PM CDT)...
DESPITE THE PERSISTENT CLOUD COVER/STRONG CAP OVER THE CWA...STORMS
HAVE BEGUN TO DEVELOP OVER SE TX THIS AFTN. THE LACK OF HEATING HAS
HELPED TO KEEP THE CONVECTION MANAGEABLE THUS FAR HOWEVER. WE COULD
SEE A DIFFERENT STORY TONIGHT (GIVEN THE PROXIMITY OF THE LINGERING
FRONT OVER N TX AND THE DRYLINE OVER CTL TX). ADD TO THIS THE PROGS
OF PWS NEAR 1.6-1.8 AND THE POSSIBILITY OF WEAK S/WS IN THE ZONAL
FLOW ALOFT...THE POTENTIAL OF MCS DEVELOPMENT OVER NC TX LOOKS GOOD
OVERNIGHT. AS IT STANDS WITH THE LATEST MODEL RUNS...THESE SAME KEY
INGREDIENTS LOOK TO BE IN PLACE TOMORROW NIGHT AS WELL. SO IT WOULD
SEEM THAT HIGHEST POPS FOR THE OVERNIGHT PERIODS ARE IN ORDER. LEFT
OVER OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES/RESIDUAL MOISTURE WOULD SEEM TO SUPPORT LOW
LOW POPS FOR TOMORROW AS WELL. WE SHOULD SEE MUCH LOWER/NIL POPS BY
SAT AS THE BOUNDARY WASHES OUT/RETREATS NORTH AND WE GET A SLIGHTLY
MORE RIDGEY COMPONENT TO THE UPPER FLOW. TEMPS AOA 90 ARE STILL AT-
TAINABLE TOMORROW BUT THE POSSIBILITY OF DEBRIS CLOUDS/ETC POINT TO
SAT BEING THE MORE LIKELY DAY FOR US TO SEE THIS ONE SURE SIGN THAT
SUMMER IS JUST UPON US. CLOUDS/RAIN CHANCES TO RETURN BY SUN AS THE
UPPER TROF NEARS/PWS POOL NEAR 2/ANOTHER SFC BOUNDARY SAGS SWD OFF
THE CENTRAL PLAINS. THIS PATTERN PROGGED TO REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH
NEXT TUES.  41/47

.HGX...NONE.

PRELIMS...
CLL EB 070/087 069/090 068 323
IAH EB 070/087 069/090 069 222
GLS EB 072/083 072/084 072 222
Hazardous weather outlook, May 1, 9:00 PM CDT, 2 hours before
GMZ330-335-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-021200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
900 PM CDT THU MAY 1 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT ACROSS THE
NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTHEAST AT 20
MPH. SOME OF THESE STORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND
DAMAGING WINDS. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT SOME OF THESE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO EDGE THEIR WAY INTO THE NORTHERN
PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS EVENING ROUGHLY ALONG AND NORTH OF
A LINE FROM BRENHAM TO HUNTSVILLE TO LIVINGSTON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THURSDAY...AN
UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL COMBINE WITH A STRONGLY UNSTABLE
AIRMASS TO PRODUCE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS
SOUTHEAST TEXAS DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A FEW STORMS
COULD BECOME SEVERE...ESPECIALLY OVER THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN
PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THE MAGNITUDE OF THE SEVERE WEATHER
THREAT WILL BECOME MORE CERTAIN WITH LATER FORECASTS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING AS THE STORMS TO THE
NORTHWEST OF THE AREA CONTINUE TO HEAD TOWARD SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 1, 9:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazos62 min
May 1, 9:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston53 min
May 1, 10:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMadison60 min
May 1, 10:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXGrimes, Walker64 min
May 1, 10:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston60 min
May 1, 10:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazos59 min
May 1, 11:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXTrinity56 min
May 1, 11:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk, San Jacinto61 min
May 1, 11:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston56 min
May 1, 11:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXTrinity64 min
May 2, 12:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXPolk60 min
May 2, 12:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXSan Jacinto58 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.