Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

April 6, 2004Wharton County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 6, 2004, 11:35 AM CDT for Wharton County, Texas. It was in force for 55 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: Apr 6, 2004, 11:35 AM CDT (16:35 UTC)
Expired: Apr 6, 2004, 12:30 PM CDT
In force: 55 min
Issued by: NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Wharton County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 117 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:39 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
Apr 6, 7:55 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr
Apr 6, 11:05 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 192 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: 1044 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 598 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 133 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 224 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.1
Supercell composite: 9.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KHGX 061635
TORHOU
TXC481-061730-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1133 AM CDT TUE APR 6 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LEAGUE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN WHARTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS

* UNTIL 1230 PM CDT

* AT 1129 AM CDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUDS 
  ON THE MATAGORDA/WHARTON COUNTY LINE. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING EAST 
  AT 20 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE PIERCE AND WHARTON.

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 400 PM CDT TUESDAY AFTERNOON 
FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

LAT...LON 2906 9641 2897 9632 2920 9594 2938 9600
          2923 9627

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 6, 9:12 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		2 hr
Apr 6, 10:03 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		117 min
Apr 6, 10:20 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Jackson	55 min
Apr 6, 10:52 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Jackson	38 min
Apr 6, 11:08 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Matagorda	52 min
Apr 6, 11:12 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		108 min
Apr 6, 11:48 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		2 hr
Apr 6, 12:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Matagorda	60 min
Apr 6, 12:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Harris	63 min
Apr 6, 12:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Brazoria	59 min
Apr 6, 12:46 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		2 hr
Apr 6, 12:46 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		2 hr
Apr 6, 1:03 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Brazoria	42 min
Apr 6, 1:56 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		3 hr
Apr 6, 2:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Chambers	32 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

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.