Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 20, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

June 16, 2003Washington County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Jun 16, 2003, 5:36 PM CDT for Washington County, Texas. It was in force for 24 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
Jun 16, 2003, 5:36 PM CDT (22:36 UTC)
Expired
Jun 16, 2003, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Washington County, TX

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado 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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 292 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1696 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-06-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 7 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
1696 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
615 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
9 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

939 
WFUS54 KHGX 162236
TORHOU
TXC477-162300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
534 PM CDT MON JUN 16 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LEAGUE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS

* UNTIL 600 PM CDT

* AT 533 PM CDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT RELAYED A REPORT OF A TORNADO ON 
THE GROUND IN THE VICINITY OF CHAPPELL HILL. RADAR INDICATED THE 
STORM RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS WAS NEARLY STATIONARY...POSSIBLY DRIFTING 
SOUTH LESS THAN 5 MPH.

PEOPLE IN OR NEAR CHAPPEL HILL SHOULD TAKE COVER. 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 3023 9622 3012 9621 3010 9637 3022 9631

$$

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 Jun 16, 2:45 PM CDT, 2 hours 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 16, 2:45 PM CDT, 2 hours 51 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
245 PM CDT MON JUN 16 2003

IT LOOKS LIKE ONE MORE DAY OF RELATIVELY HIGH RAIN CHANCES ON
TUESDAY BEFORE A DRYING TREND ENSUES. THE 50H TROF REMAINS OVER THE
REGION PROVIDING LIFT AND A WEAK DIVERGENT UPPER LEVEL FLOW. THE KEY
TO RAIN CHANCES TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WILL BE THE POSITIION OF THE
85H LOW. THE GFS KEEPS THIS FEATURE CLOSER TO SE TX AND PRODUCES
DECENT LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE. THE ETA WEAKENS THE 85H LOW AND SHIFTS
IT FURTHER EAST. PWS CURRENTLY RESIDE IN THE 1.8 TO 1.9 RANGE AND
ARE FCST TO SLOWLY FALL TO AROUND 1.5 INCHES BY THURSDAY AND CONT A
SLOW FALL INTO THE WEEKEND. AS MSTR LEVELS DECREASE AND LIFT
DECREASES...FEEL IT BEST TO LOWER POPS TO 20 PERCENT FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE FCST PERIOD. TEMPS WILL WARM TOWARD CLIMO AS RAIN
CHANCES DECREASE.

.HGX...NONE.

.PRELIMS...
CLL BB 069/089 069/090 070 242
IAH TB 072/088 072/090 072 252
GLS TB 077/088 077/089 078 252
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 16, 4:08 PM CDT, 1 hour 28 minutes before
GMZ330-335-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-170900-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
408 PM CDT MON JUN 16 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND TUESDAY.
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHEAST
TEXAS AGAIN ON TUESDAY. A NEARLY STATIONARY UPPER LEVEL TROUGH
OF LOW PRESSURE WILL STRETCH ACROSS EASTERN TEXAS. AS TEMPERATURES
WARM INTO THE MIDDLE 80S...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP
OVER THE REGION. WEAK MID-LEVEL WIND FIELDS WILL PRODUCE VERY SLOW
MOVEMENT. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN
WITH ISOLATED TOTALS OF 3 TO 4 INCHES. THESE STORMS WILL DIMINISH
RAPIDLY AFTER SUNSET AND REDEVELOP NEAR THE COAST JUST BEFORE
SUNRISE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 16, 9:38 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningHGX37 min
Jun 16, 5:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXAustin39 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes 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.