Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Texas, July 23, 2003

Name: Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Texas, July 23, 2003
Start: 2003-07-23T06:15
End: 2003-07-23T12:45
Location: Texas

July 23, 2003 · NWS HGX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

1 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud, 1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $14,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Jul 23, 2:30 AM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 2:30 AM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes before

SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
330 AM CDT WED JUL 23 2003

CONVECTION STARTING TO INCREASE IN AREAL COVERAGE OVER NE ZONES AS
TSTM CLUSTER FROM TYLER TO NACHITOCHES CONTINUE MOVING SSE. SURFACE
ANALYSIS WOULD INDICATE FRONTAL BOUNDARY STILL QUITE NORTH OF OUR
CWFA NEAR THE RED RIVER. PWATS NEAR 2 INCHES OVER OUR REGION W/CAPES
NEAR 4000 J/KG AND LITTLE TO NO CAP. OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM CONVECTION
EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS CWFA TODAY WITH FRONT STAYING JUST NORTH AND
WASHING OUT. EXPECT CONVECTION TO BECOME ACTIVE THIS MORNING AS
MOISTURE RIDGE AXIS MOVES SOUTH. HIGHEST POPS SHOULD BE OVER NE ZONES
DURING MORNING W/HIGHER POPS SHIFTING TO SOUTHERN ZONES BY
AFTERNOON. FOCUS OF CONVECTION WILL MOVE EAST OF OUR REGION BY
TONIGHT. DRYING EXPECTED TONIGHT W/PWATS LOWERING TO ABOUT 1.5
INCHES. THURSDAY WILL SEE A RETURN TO A NORMAL SUMMER PATTERN
W/SLIGHT CHANCE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVE CONVECTION. MODELS SUGGEST
MID LEVEL TROUGH MOVING ACROSS OUR REGION ON SATURDAY W/BUT HIGHER
MOISTURE LEVELS REMAINING SOUTH. WEAK SURFACE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE
WILL RETURN OVER SE CONUS AND NORTHERN GULF TOWARD END OF WEEK AND
INTO WEEKEND. UPPER HIGH CENTER WILL RETREAT WEST SOMEWHAT BY EARLY NEXT
WEEK AS UPPER TROUGH MOVING ACROSS GREAT LAKES STARTS TO INCREASE IN
AMPLITUDE. MARINE REGION WILL CONTINUE W/A LIGHT TO MODERATE
SOUTHERLY FLOW THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK AND INTO THE
WEEKEND.

37/42

.HGX...NONE.

CLL EB 092/072 094/074 095 422
IAH EB 093/074 094/074 095 422
GLS EB 089/079 090/080 090 422
NE  EB                     522

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 23, 4:00 AM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes before

GMZ330-335-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-241200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
500 AM CDT WED JUL 23 2003

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS TODAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY.
A WEAK COOL FRONT WILL APPROACH THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND STALL. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE WITH THE
GREATEST RAIN CHANCES OVER THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION.
OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING SOUTH WILL SERVE AS
A FOCUS FOR ADDITIONAL CONVECTION ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. A FEW
STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE. DAMAGING WINDS AND DIME SIZED HAIL WILL BE
THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREATS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
THE ASSISTANCE OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS...AND
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER
OPERATIONS...MAY BE NEEDED TODAY.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Houston

When: July 23, 6:15 AM CST
Where: Houston County, Crockett
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $14,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.317, -95.450

Tree down on trailor home.

Funnel Cloud, Jackson

When: July 23, 10:50 AM CST
Where: Jackson County, Ganado
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 28.954, -96.578 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Numerous funnel clouds along US 59.

Lightning, Fort Bend

When: July 23, 12:45 PM CST
Where: Fort Bend County, Sugarland
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 29.528, -95.771 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Three males struck after taking shelter under a large tree. One twenty-one year old died, two others (twenty-three and twenty-seven years old) were injured. Group was installing a chain-link fence.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Lightning, Fort Bend	2003-07-23	21	Male	Under Tree	Direct

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Texas in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, July 2003

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5372563, 5372564, 5372565.