Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 23, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

July 7, 2003Colorado County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Jul 7, 2003, 3:00 PM CDT for Colorado County, Texas. It was in force for 45 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
Jul 7, 2003, 3:00 PM CDT (20:00 UTC)
Expired
Jul 7, 2003, 3:45 PM CDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Colorado County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 138 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:00 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 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, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 228 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 2003-07-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2186 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-07-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -74 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
2186 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
750 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-74 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-65 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.

432 
WFUS54 KHGX 072000
TORHOU
TXC089-072045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
258 PM CDT MON JUL 7 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LEAGUE CITY HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 345 PM CDT

* AT 255 PM CDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR THE   
  WHARTON/COLORADO COUNTY LINE. DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES THAT 
  THE TORNADO PRODUCING THUNDERTORM IS 5 MILES WEST OF EAGLE 
  LAKE...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE...
  COLUMBUS
  FRELSBURG

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 2948 9643 2960 9627 2994 9658 2972 9675

$$

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 Jul 7, 2:00 PM CDT, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 7, 2:00 PM CDT, 1 hour before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
200 PM CDT MON JUL 7 2003

KHGX RADAR SHOWS A VERY ACTIVE AFT ACROSS SE TX AS HEATING IS
PRODUCING SCT SHWRS AND TSTMS AREAWIDE. A FEW CLUSTERS OF TSTMS ARE
BEGINNING TO FORM AND TRAINING IS ALSO OCCURRING. ISOLATED LOCATIONS
HAVE SEEN 2 INCHES OF RAIN. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL THREAT WILL
CONTINUE INTO THE EVE HOURS FOR INLAND LOCATIONS. WILL CARRY SCT
POPS AREAWIDE TONIGHT AS COASTAL ZONES WILL LIKELY GET ACTIVE AFTER
MIDNIGHT.

MAIN FORECAST ISSUE CONTINUES TO BE THE CHC OF RAIN AND RAINFALL
AMOUNTS. AS MID/UPPER LOW MOVES INTO SE TEXAS TONIGHT AND STALLS
OVER THE REGION TOMORROW...EXPECT A GOOD CHC OF SHWRS AND TSTMS.
THIS FEATURE WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN...BUT PW VALUES WILL REMAIN
AROUND 2 INCHES AT LEAST THROUGH WED. WILL MENTION LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL TOMORROW AREAWIDE. RIDGING AT MID LEVELS STILL EXPECTED
TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK AND OVER THE WEEKEND. WITH AREA ON THE
EDGE OF THE RIDGE CENTERED WEST OF SE TX...SLIGHT CHC OF PRECIP WILL
STILL EXIST FOR SE HALF OF THE AREA. TEMPS SHOULD RISE AT LEAST INTO
THE MID 90S AS ALREADY BEING FORECAST DURING THE FRI-MON TIME PERIOD.

FOR MARINE AREA...ONSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE. WINDS AND SEAS ARE
EXPECTED TO BE JUST BELOW CAUTION CRITERIA.

33/41

.HGX...NONE.

UPDATED PRELIMS...
CLL TT 075/091 075/092 075 463
IAH TT 076/090 076/091 076 363
GLS TT 081/088 081/089 081 463
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 7, 7:00 AM CDT, 8 hours before
GMZ330-335-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-081200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
700 AM CDT MON JUL 7 2003

...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS TODAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER SOUTHEAST
TEXAS TODAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACHES THE
AREA FROM THE GULF. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL AVERAGE 1/4 TO 1/2 INCH
WITH ISOLATED TOTALS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES POSSIBLE...MAINLY THIS
AFTERNOON. THESE HEAVIER DOWNPOURS COULD PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING
OF STREETS...FEEDER ROADS...OR LOW LYING AREAS.

IN ADDITION...CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE FORMATION OF FUNNEL
CLOUDS OR WATERSPOUTS TODAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.
TUESDAY...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED ONCE AGAIN AS THE UPPER LEVEL LOW MOVES ACROSS SOUTHEAST
TEXAS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE A POSSIBILITY.

WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT
THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.