Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2005

Tornado Watch 894

December 14, 200518 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 14, 2005, 10:12 AM CST for 18 counties in Texas. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Dec 14, 2005, 10:12 AM CST (16:12 UTC)
Expired
Dec 14, 2005, 5:00 PM CST
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Austin County, TX, Brazoria County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Colorado County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Harris County, TX, Jackson County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Matagorda County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Newton County, TX, Orange County, TX, Waller County, TX, Wharton County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 42 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:16 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.

Warnings issued inside it

6 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 14, 11:18 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHJasper12 min
Dec 14, 11:25 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHNewton65 min
Dec 14, 11:35 AM CSTTornado WarningHGXAustin, Fort Bend40 min
Dec 14, 11:58 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHHardin62 min
Dec 14, 12:30 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXHarris, Liberty, Montgomery4 hr
Dec 14, 12:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris44 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 232 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2005-12-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2005-12-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 229 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
931 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
65 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
229 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
261 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.

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 141609
SEL4  
SPC WW 141609
TXZ000-CWZ000-142300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 894
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1110 AM CDT WED DEC 14 2005

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       SOUTHEAST TEXAS
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING AND EVENING FROM 1110 AM UNTIL
600 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES
NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF PALACIOS
TEXAS TO 20 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF PORT ARTHUR TEXAS. FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

DISCUSSION...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...INCLUDING
SUPERCELLS...WILL DEVELOP FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE WATCH THIS
AFTERNOON.  LOW AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR REMAIN IMPRESSIVE AND RESULTANT
ISOLATED TORNADO/WIND DAMAGE POTENTIAL WILL INCREASE WITH AFTERNOON
HEATING.  OTHERWISE...LARGE HAIL WILL ACCOMPANY STRONGER CORES
TODAY.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26025.


...EVANS

294,0964 305,0934 291,0934 280,0964

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 14, 9:42 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAransas, Austin, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado and 17 more2 hr
Dec 14, 11:50 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCJasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange85 min
Dec 14, 1:04 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAustin, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend and 11 more86 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2005Every tornado watch in 2005

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.