Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2009

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 37, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

April 2, 2009Colorado County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 2, 2009, 6:48 AM CDT for Colorado 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 counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 2, 2009, 6:48 AM CDT (11:48 UTC)
Expired
Apr 2, 2009, 7:15 AM CDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Colorado County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 141 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:49 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 2, 1:49 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 225 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2009-04-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 348 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2009-04-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 170 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
348 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-332 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1121 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
95 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
170 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
147 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 2, 5:06 AM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 2, 5:06 AM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
506 AM CDT THU APR 2 2009

.DISCUSSION...
UPDATE FOR AVIATION/MARINE/FIRE WX.

&&
.MARINE...
WINDS OVER THE FAR OFFSHORE WATERS STILL RUNNING NEAR 19 KNOTS WITH
GUSTS NEAR 25 KNOTS...SCA CONTINUES THERE. AS FRONT NEARS EXPECT
WINDS TO SWING TO SW AND WSW. AFTER FROPA EXPECT NORTHWEST WINDS
ACROSS THE UTCW TO WARRANT SCA ALL WATERS. SCA WILL LIKELY NEED
EXTENDING FOR THE 20-60 NM WATERS THIS EVENING. GRADIENT RELAXES
AFTER 10 PM AND HIGH QUICKLY TRAVERSES AND LULL IN WINDS EXPECTED.
BUT BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON SE FLOW REDEVELOPS AND STARTS TO STRENGTHEN
IN RESPONSE TO THE LATE SATURDAY/EARLY SUNDAY SYSTEM.
45

&&

.AVIATION...
CIGS ALL OVER THE PLACE FROM 300-2000. LOWER CIGS NORTH WITH SOME
SPOTTY IMPROVEMENT ELSEWHERE AS LL MOISTURE DEEPENS AND LLJ LIFTS.
LLWS NEAR 40 KNOTS SHOWING UP TAFS AND AREA RADARS SUPPORTING THIS
ATTM. TIMING OF SHRA/TSRA INTO CLL AROUND 1030Z/UTS 1130Z/CXO 1230Z.
NOT AS CONFIDENT THAT TSRA WILL MAKE IT INTO IAH/HOU BUT SHRA
SHOULD. WILL HOLD OFF ON SVR TSRA IN TERMINALS UNTIL THEY GET
CLOSER AND WILL NOW TAF THESE SHOULD THEY BECOME NECESSARY. WESTERLY
WINDS MAY PLAY HAVOC WITH IAH/HOU APPROACHES AS WINDS INCREASE TO
10-18 KNOTS THEN BECOME MORE NORTHWEST. THIS AFTERNOON NW WINDS
SUSTAINED AT 17-20 KNOTS AREAWIDE WITH GUSTS NEAR 25...WILL LIKELY
MAKE THESE CHANGES TO PREVAILING WINDS IN CURRENT PACKAGE. CIGS
SHOULD ALSO IMPROVE DRAMATICALLY AFTER 13-15Z WINDOW WITH FROPA.
VFR BY MID AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. 45 &&

.FIRE WEATHER...
RED FLAG CONDITIONS LOOKING LIKELY WITH THE DEWPOINT DROP AND STRONG
WEST TO NORTH WINDS IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. AREAS NEAR
THE COAST SHOULD GET AS DRY GIVEN THE FLOW BUT STILL CLOSE ENOUGH TO
RAISE THE FLAG.
45

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 450 AM CDT THU APR 2 2009/

DISCUSSION...
CURRENTLY WATCHING A LINE OF STRONG/POSSIBLY SVR STORMS APPROACH-
ING THE AREA FROM THE NW. BUT HAVE NOTICED THAT THE ACTIVITY DOES
APPEAR TO BE WEAKENING SLIGHTLY AS IT NEAR THE BORDERS OF OUR CWA.
OF CONCERN IS THE CONTINUED ERODING OF THE CAP (WITH SOME HEATING
THIS MORNING) SHOULD THE LINE SLOWS DOWN AS IT MOVES ACROSS SE TX.
OTHERWISE THE VERTICAL SHEAR LOOKS MARGINAL FOR SVR. WILL GO WITH
HIGHEST POPS OVER THE NRN ZONES FOR THIS MORNING...TAPERING DOWN-
WARD FOR THE COASTAL ZONES.

LOOKING AHEAD...WE MAY GET A SLIGHTLY LESS ACTIVE RE-RUN OF STORMS
OVER THE WEEKEND AS THE NEXT SYSTEM DEVELOPS/MOVES ACROSS THE CNTL
PLAINS AS OPPOSED TO THE SRN PLAINS WITH THIS CURRENT ONE. HOWEVER
GIVEN THE SLIGHTLY LONGER PERIOD OF RETURN FLOW...WE MAY SEE A BIT
OF LIGHT/WAA TYPE PCPN LATE SAT. ATTM STILL LIKE THE GOING POPS OF
20%. A FEW CHANGES IN THE OFFING FOR THE LONG RANGE AS MODELS BACK
OFF THE CURRENT PATTERN (OF FAST MOVING COLD FRONTS) OF LATE AS SE
TX STAYS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE UPPER RIDGE FOR THE EARLY PART
OF NEXT WEEK. PERSISTENT CAA IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT ON SUN COULD
KEEP US DRY INTO THE MIDDLE/END OF NEXT WEEK. 41

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
COLLEGE STATION (CLL)      73  45  76  53  81 /  50   0   0   0  20
HOUSTON (IAH)              77  47  78  54  79 /  40   0   0   0  20
GALVESTON (GLS)            75  56  70  64  73 /  30   0   0   0  20

&&

.HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...RED FLAG WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM CDT THIS
     EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: AUSTIN...BRAZORIA...
     BRAZOS...BURLESON...CHAMBERS...COLORADO...FORT BEND...
     GALVESTON...GRIMES...HARRIS...HOUSTON...JACKSON...LIBERTY...
     MADISON...MATAGORDA...MONTGOMERY...POLK...SAN JACINTO...
     TRINITY...WALKER...WALLER...WASHINGTON...WHARTON.

GM...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM CDT THIS
     EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: GALVESTON BAY...MATAGORDA
     BAY...WATERS FROM FREEPORT TO THE MATAGORDA SHIP CHANNEL
     OUT 20 NM...WATERS FROM HIGH ISLAND TO FREEPORT OUT 20 NM.

     SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE
     FOLLOWING ZONES: WATERS FROM FREEPORT TO THE MATAGORDA SHIP
     CHANNEL 20 NM TO 60 NM...WATERS FROM HIGH ISLAND TO
     FREEPORT 20 TO 60 NM.

&&

DISCUSSION...41
AVIATION/MARINE...45
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 1, 9:37 PM CDT, 9 hours 11 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 2, 4:50 AM CDTSmall Craft AdvisoryHGX14 hr
Apr 2, 6:56 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXColorado34 min
Apr 2, 7:47 AM CDTRed Flag WarningHGXAustin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado and 17 more11 hr
Apr 2, 11:19 AM CDTWind AdvisoryHGXAustin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado and 17 more8 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 2009Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2009

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.