Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2020
Tornado Watch 6
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 10, 2020, 9:09 PM CST for 23 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jan 10, 2020, 9:09 PM CST (03:09 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 11, 2020, 2:08 AM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 23 counties
Austin County, TX, Brazoria County, TX, Brazos County, TX, Burleson County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Colorado County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Grimes County, TX, Harris County, TX, Houston County, TX, Jackson County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Madison County, TX, Matagorda County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Polk County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX, Trinity County, TX, Walker County, TX, Waller County, TX, Washington County, TX, Wharton County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:12 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.
What SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 40%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 50%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 70%
Warnings issued inside it
13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 10, 9:25 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison, Waller and 1 more | 50 min |
| Jan 10, 9:34 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Burleson | 26 min |
| Jan 10, 10:15 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Houston, Madison, Montgomery and 2 more | 45 min |
| Jan 10, 10:47 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Grimes, Montgomery, Waller | 28 min |
| Jan 10, 10:55 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Harris, Montgomery, Waller | 35 min |
| Jan 10, 11:22 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker | 38 min |
| Jan 10, 11:46 PM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Fort Bend, Harris | 9 min |
| Jan 10, 11:52 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto | 38 min |
| Jan 10, 11:56 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Fort Bend, Harris | 34 min |
| Jan 11, 12:17 AM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Harris | 13 min |
| Jan 11, 12:23 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Polk and 1 more | 52 min |
| Jan 11, 12:50 AM CST | Tornado Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Galveston | 25 min |
| Jan 11, 1:11 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Liberty | 49 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 00:00Z, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 256 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2102 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 501 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 197 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 232 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.2
- Supercell composite
- 9.2
The text
As transmitted.
424 WWUS20 KWNS 110306 SEL6 SPC WW 110306 TXZ000-CWZ000-111000- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 6 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 905 PM CST Fri Jan 10 2020 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Southeast Texas Coastal Waters * Effective this Friday night and Saturday morning from 905 PM until 400 AM CST. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible SUMMARY...A band of strong-severe thunderstorms is forecast to cross the watch area overnight, with the threat of damaging gusts, along with a couple tornadoes possible. Any cells that can develop and mature ahead of the line also may pose a tornado/wind threat. Isolated severe hail cannot be ruled out. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 85 statute miles north and south of a line from 55 miles south southwest of College Station TX to 60 miles northeast of Houston TX. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6). PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... 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. && OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 4...WW 5... 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 550. Mean storm motion vector 24040. ...Edwards
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 10, 6:30 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet and 16 more | 2 hr |
| Jan 10, 7:30 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anderson, Angelina, Bell, Bowie, Camp, Cass and 40 more | 2 hr |
| Jan 10, 8:49 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers and 25 more | 116 min |
| Jan 10, 10:40 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cass, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Marion, Nacogdoches and 5 more | 2 hr |
| Jan 11, 12:21 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Angelina, Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Hardin, Harris and 10 more | 99 min |
| Jan 11, 12:28 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange, Sabine and 1 more | 8 hr |
| Jan 11, 1:19 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Sabine | 86 min |
| Jan 11, 7:34 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cooke, Denton, Fannin, Grayson | 116 min |
Nearby
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.