Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 69, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

November 17, 2003Harris County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Nov 17, 2003, 8:32 PM CST for Harris County, Texas. It was in force for 28 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: Nov 17, 2003, 8:32 PM CST (02:32 UTC)
Expired: Nov 17, 2003, 9:00 PM CST
In force: 28 min
Issued by: NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Harris County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 38 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:35 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Nov 17, 6:55 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 183 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 877 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 631 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 200 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 222 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.2
Supercell composite: 7.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KHGX 180232 CCA
TORHOU
TXC201-180300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
823 PM CST MON NOV 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LEAGUE CITY HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 900 PM CST

* AT 820 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A 
PAIR OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES.  THESE 
STORMS WERE WEST OF PASADENA AND SOUTH OF CROSBY ...MOVING 
NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM INCLUDE...
  SOUTH HOUSTON...PASADENA...GALENA PARK
  DEER PARK...JACINTO CITY
  CLOVERLEAF...LA PORTE
  CHANNELVIEW
  SHELDON
  HIGHLANDS

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN THE INTERIOR HALLWAY OR
A ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST LEVEL OF A STURDY BUILDING. USE
BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TUESDAY MORNING
FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST
TUESDAY MORNING FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

LAT...LON 2990 9500 2980 9490 2958 9517 2969 9533
          3000 9501

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 17, 6:01 PM CST	Tornado Warning	HGX	Chambers, Liberty	44 min
Nov 17, 6:19 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	HGX	Liberty	3 hr
Nov 17, 6:23 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	HGX	Harris	3 hr
Nov 17, 8:26 PM CST	Tornado Warning	HGX	Harris	34 min
Nov 17, 8:28 PM CST	Tornado Warning	HGX	Brazoria, Galveston	32 min
Nov 17, 9:06 PM CST	Tornado Warning	HGX	Galveston, Harris	24 min
Nov 17, 9:38 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	HGX	Brazoria, Galveston, Harris	3 hr
Nov 17, 10:09 PM CST	Tornado Warning	HGX	Liberty	36 min
Nov 17, 11:16 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	HGX		89 min
Nov 17, 11:26 PM CST	Tornado Warning	HGX	Chambers	49 min
Nov 18, 12:52 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	HGX		113 min

Nearby

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