Alert archive / Texas / Rip Current Statements in 2017

Rip Current Statement 3, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

March 17, 2017Brazoria County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this rip current statement at Mar 17, 2017, 10:51 AM CDT for Brazoria County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Texas. It was in force for 17 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 17, 2017, 10:51 AM CDT (15:51 UTC)
Expired
Mar 18, 2017, 3:47 AM CDT
In force
17 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

Counties Brazoria County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Galveston County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 14 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:50 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 nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 189 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 2017-03-17Temperature 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°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 2017-03-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 101 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
719 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
101 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
244 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

969 
WHUS44 KHGX 171551
CFWHGX

COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1051 AM CDT FRI MAR 17 2017

...STRONG RIP CURRENTS ALONG LOCAL AREA BEACHES...

.A PERSISTENTLY MODERATE ONSHORE FLOW PATTERN OVER THESE PAST
COUPLE OF DAYS HAS STRENGTHENED LOCAL NEARSHORE RIP CURRENTS.
WINDS ARE FORECAST TO WEAKEN THROUGH THE DAY INTO EVENING BUT
THE PRESENCE OF STRONG RIPS MAY STILL EXIST THROUGH THE EARLY
SATURDAY MORNING HOURS. 

TXZ214-237-238-181200-
/O.NEW.KHGX.RP.S.0003.170317T1551Z-170318T1200Z/
BRAZORIA-CHAMBERS-GALVESTON-
1051 AM CDT FRI MAR 17 2017

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IS IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A
HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK, WHICH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY
MORNING. 

* TIMING...THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY MORNING.

* IMPACTS...STRONG RIP CURRENTS WILL CREATE HAZARDOUS SWIMMING 
CONDITIONS ALONG LOCAL AREA BEACHES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS. LIFE THREATENING RIP CURRENTS 
ARE LIKELY IN THE SURF ZONE.
               
RIP CURRENTS ARE POWERFUL CHANNELS OF WATER FLOWING QUICKLY AWAY
FROM SHORE...WHICH OCCUR MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPOTS OR BREAKS IN THE
SANDBAR AND IN THE VICINITY OF STRUCTURES SUCH AS GROINS...JETTIES 
AND PIERS. HEED THE ADVICE OF LIFEGUARDS...BEACH PATROL...FLAGS AND 
SIGNS. SWIM NEAR A LIFEGUARD.
               
IF YOU BECOME CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT...YELL FOR HELP. REMAIN CALM...
DO NOT EXHAUST YOURSELF AND STAY AFLOAT WHILE WAITING FOR HELP. IF YOU 
HAVE TO SWIM OUT OF A RIP CURRENT...SWIM PARALLEL TO SHORE AND BACK 
TOWARD THE BEACH WHEN POSSIBLE. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SWIM DIRECTLY AGAINST
A RIP CURRENT AS YOU WILL TIRE QUICKLY.

&&

$$
1 follow-up statement
099 
WHUS44 KHGX 180847
CFWHGX

COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
347 AM CDT SAT MAR 18 2017

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IS CANCELLED...

TXZ214-237-238-181000-
/O.CAN.KHGX.RP.S.0003.000000T0000Z-170318T1200Z/
BRAZORIA-CHAMBERS-GALVESTON-
347 AM CDT SAT MAR 18 2017

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IS CANCELLED...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS CANCELLED
THE HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK. 

.WEAKENING ONSHORE WINDS THIS MORNING WILL HELP DIMINISH THE 
PRESENCE OF STRONG RIP CURRENTS... BUT BEACHGOERS SHOULD STILL USE
CAUTION AS RIP CURRENTS MAY STILL EXIST IN THE VICINITY OF 
STRUCTURES SUCH AS GROINS...JETTIES AND PIERS. SHOULD STRONG RIP 
CURRENT CONDITIONS DEVELOP LATER TODAY... ANOTHER RIP CURRENT 
STATEMENT MAY BE ISSUED FOR BEACHES ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST.

$$

Nearby

Rip Current Statements in Texas, 2017Every rip current statement in 2017

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.