Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2003
Tornado Warning 24, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Jul 15, 2003, 6:41 AM CDT for Chambers County, Galveston County, Texas. It was in force for 49 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 15, 2003, 6:41 AM CDT (11:41 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 15, 2003, 7:30 AM CDT
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Chambers County, TX, Galveston 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 6:40 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 143 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -124 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1628 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 25 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 34 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
330 WFUS54 KHGX 151141 TORHOU TXC071-167-151230- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 641 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LEAGUE CITY HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... CHAMBERS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS GALVESTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS * UNTIL 730 AM CDT * AT 637 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 3 MILES EAST OF GILCHRIST...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 40 MPH. * LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE... GILCHRIST OAK ISLAND 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 2943 9443 2948 9435 2974 9463 2972 9481 $$
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 15, 3:01 AM CDT, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 15, 3:01 AM CDT, 3 hours 40 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
301 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2003
HAVE ALREADY UPDATE THE FLOOD WATCH TO INCLUDE ALL OF THE SOUTHERN
HALF OF SE TX. HURRICANE CLAUDETTE HAS BEEN MOVING ALMOST DUE WEST
OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS. RAIN BANDS HAVE MOVED ONTO THE COASTAL
COUNTIES WITH A HEAVIER BAND CURRENTLY JUST OFF THE COAST. THE MAIN
CONCERNS FOR THIS MORNING INCLUDE HIGH WINDS...HEAVY RAINFALL...AND
ISOLATED TORNADOES. AS CLAUDETTE GETS CLOSER TO THE COAST...THE
SYSTEM WILL MORE AND MORE BE INFLUENCED BY THE 200 AND 300 MB TROUGH
LOCATED JUST INLAND ACROSS THE ENTIRE TX COASTAL PLAIN.
THE COMBINATION OF THE MID AND UPPER LEVEL FLOW AND THE CURRENT STORM
MOVEMENT IN RELATION TO THE COAST INDICATES THAT THE STORM CENTER MAY
ACTUALLY TRY TO GO WEST-SOUTHWEST BEFORE MAKING LANDFALL. THE MASS OF
RAIN BANDS JUST OFF THE COAST SHOULD ALSO MOVE INLAND AND AFFECT THE
NORTHERN COUNTIES. FOR NOW THE RAINFALL POTENTIAL LOOKS TO BE 2 TO 6
INCHES WITH ISOLATED 10 INCHES...THOUGH WITH THE SYSTEM SPEEDING UP
THESE MAY BE ON THE HIGH SIDE. FAVORED AREAS FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES
LOOK TO BE ACROSS CHAMBERS...GALVESTON...HARRIS...BRAZORIA...FORT
BEND...MATAGORDA...AND JACKSON COUNTIES. EXPECTING THE WORST WINDS
OVER THE COASTAL COUNTIES THROUGHOUT THE MORNING...THEN INTO THE FAR
SOUTHERN COUNTIES INTO EARLY AFTERNOON AS THE STORM CENTER GETS
ONSHORE.
AFTER CLAUDETTE TODAY THE RIDGE TO THE NORTH BUILDS ACROSS THE
PLAINS. BY THIS WEEKEND THE ECMWF AND GFS INDICATE EASTERLY FLOW
ACROSS SE TX. FOR THAT CASE WILL GO WITH SCATTERED POPS STARTING
SATURDAY. UNTIL THEN THE RIDGE SHOULD SUPPRESS RAINFALL TO ISOLATED
AT BEST.
.HGX...HURRICANE WARNING COASTAL COUNTIES PLUS HARRIS AND LIBERTY.
INLAND TROPICAL STORM WIND WARNING WHARTON...COLORADO...
AUSTIN...WALLER...AND FORT BEND COUNTIES.
FLOOD WATCH ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 10.
SMALL CRAFT SHOULD STAY IN PORT.
PL-40
45
38/43/30Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 14, 4:25 PM CDT, 14 hours 16 minutes before
GMZ330-335-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-151200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 425 PM CDT MON JUL 14 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS. ...A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM HIGH ISLAND TO BAFFIN BAY... THE WARNING AREA INCLUDES THE COUNTIES OF CHAMBERS...HARRIS... GALVESTON...BRAZORIA...LIBERTY...MATAGORDA...AND JACKSON COUNTIES. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. REFER TO THE TROPICAL STORM LOCAL STATEMENT...SATHLSHOU...WMO HEADER WTUS84 KHGX. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...REFER TO THE TROPICAL STORM LOCAL STATEMENT...SATHLSHOU...WMO HEADER WTUS84 KHGX. FOR THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ACTIVATION WILL BE POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 6:43 AM CDT | Special Marine Warning | HGX | 62 min | |
| Jul 15, 8:42 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Chambers, Harris | 3 hr |
| Jul 15, 10:00 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Jackson, Matagorda, Wharton | 3 hr |
| Jul 15, 12:52 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Jackson, Matagorda, Wharton | 3 hr |
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.