Alert archive / Texas / Rip Current Statements in 2018

Rip Current Statement 1, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

March 16, 20184 counties in Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this rip current statement at Mar 16, 2018, 3:16 PM CDT for 4 counties in Texas. It was in force for 19 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 16, 2018, 3:16 PM CDT (20:16 UTC)
Expired
Mar 17, 2018, 10:17 AM CDT
In force
19 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

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

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 30 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:17 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, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 219 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 2018-03-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 473 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 2018-03-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 217 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
473 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-51 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
685 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
217 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
313 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
6.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

505 
WHUS44 KHGX 162016
CFWHGX

COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
316 PM CDT FRI MAR 16 2018

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING...

.ONSHORE FLOW AND ELEVATED SEAS WILL CREATE A HIGH RISK FOR RIP 
CURRENTS ALONG GULF-FACING BEACHES AT TIMES THROUGH SATURDAY 
EVENING. RESIDENTS AND SPRING BREAK VISITORS SHOULD MAKE SURE TO 
SWIM NEAR A LIFEGUARD IF ENTERING THE WATER.

TXZ214-236>238-180500-
/O.NEW.KHGX.RP.S.0001.180316T2016Z-180318T0500Z/
BRAZORIA-CHAMBERS-GALVESTON-MATAGORDA-
316 PM CDT FRI MAR 16 2018

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING...

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

* TIMING...THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING.

* IMPACTS...HAZARDOUS SWIMMING CONDITIONS ON GULF-FACING 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
597 
WHUS44 KHGX 171517
CFWHGX

COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1017 AM CDT SAT MAR 17 2018

...RIP CURRENTS HAVE WEAKENED TODAY...

.RECENT REPORTS FROM THE LOCAL GULF BEACHES INDICATE THAT THE RIP
CURRENT HAS WEAKENED SINCE YESTERDAY. THUS...THE RIP CURRENT 
STATEMENT HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE. 

TXZ214-236>238-171630-
/O.CAN.KHGX.RP.S.0001.000000T0000Z-180318T0500Z/
BRAZORIA-CHAMBERS-GALVESTON-MATAGORDA-
1017 AM CDT SAT MAR 17 2018

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

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


&&

$$

Nearby

Rip Current Statements in Texas, 2018Every rip current statement in 2018

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.