Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

May 14, 2008Polk County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this tornado warning at May 14, 2008, 12:03 PM CDT for Polk County, Texas. It was in force for 27 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: May 14, 2008, 12:03 PM CDT (17:03 UTC)
Expired: May 14, 2008, 12:30 PM CDT
In force: 27 min
Issued by: NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Polk County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 129 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:06 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
May 14, 7:50 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 5.1 hours before the alert went out and 144 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: 1534 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 494 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 182 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 316 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.3
Supercell composite: 9.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KHGX 141704
TORHGX
TXC373-141730-
/O.NEW.KHGX.TO.W.0013.080514T1703Z-080514T1730Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1203 PM CDT WED MAY 14 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LEAGUE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN POLK COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

* UNTIL 1230 PM CDT

* AT 1201 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO...LOCATED NEAR 
SEGNO AND WAS MOVING EAST AT 31 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL IMPACT SEGNO AND MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF THE 
EXTREME SOUTHEAST PORTIONS OF POLK COUNTY.

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 YOU ARE INSIDE A MOBILE HOME OR VEHICLE...EVACUATE THEM
IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK SHELTER INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING. AS A LAST
RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR
HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM FOR THE WARNED AREA.

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 3049 9454 3050 9471 3065 9470 3065 9457
TIME...MOT...LOC 1703Z 277DEG 27KT 3057 9464

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 14, 7:08 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison	52 min
May 14, 7:58 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Brazos, Burleson, Grimes	47 min
May 14, 8:38 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Grimes, Montgomery, Walker	52 min
May 14, 9:42 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Washington	36 min
May 14, 10:03 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Walker	57 min
May 14, 10:13 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Walker	47 min
May 14, 10:29 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	HGX	Washington	2 hr
May 14, 10:38 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Montgomery, San Jacinto	52 min
May 14, 10:50 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Polk, San Jacinto	55 min
May 14, 11:20 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Liberty, Polk, San Jacinto	40 min
May 14, 11:45 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Polk	45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2008 Every tornado warning in 2008 Tornadoes in 2008

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.