Funnel Cloud, Wharton
- When
- September 14, 11:35 AM CST
- Where
- Wharton County, 2 mi SE of El Campo
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 29.278, -96.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Texas, September 14, 2004
3 funnel cloud, 1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 40
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 Sep 14, 9:30 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 14, 9:30 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1030 AM CDT TUE SEP 14 2004 .DISCUSSION... KHGX RADAR IS SHOWING SCT SHWRS AND TSTMS THIS MORNING ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LIBERTY TO HOUSTON TO COLUMBUS LINE. VERY DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE IS IN PLACE ACROSS THIS REGION WITH THE GOES SOUNDER SHOWING PW VALUES GREATER THAN 2 INCHES. I THINK THAT THE CURRENT FORECAST OF LIKELY POPS ACROSS THE SW ZONES AND CHC POPS ELSEWHERE LOOKS GOOD. 33 && .AVIATION... MAIN ISSUE CONTINUES TO BE TSTM COVERAGE. ATTM VCTS APPEARS DEFINITELY WARRANTED FOR THE AFT. WILL CONSIDER TEMPO GROUPS FOR TSTM CONDITIONS WITH NEXT TAF PACKAGE (18Z). 33 && .MARINE... SWELLS GENERATED FROM HURRICANE IVAN CONTINUE TO INCREASE IN THE 20-60 NM WATERS AND EXPECT THEM TO CAUSE SEAS TO RISE IN THE 00-20 NM WATERS TODAY. SEAS ARE AROUND 7 FEET AT BUOY 42019. EXPECT 00-20 NM SEAS TO REACH THE 4-6 FOOT RANGE. SEAS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. TIDES ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING 1 FOOT ABOVE NORMAL. WILL MONITOR CLOSELY TODAY AS THEY WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO CREEP UP. 33 && .HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SCEC...0-20 NM COASTAL WATERS TODAY SCA...20-60 NM COASTAL WATERS TODAY. && .PREVIOUS PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... COLLEGE STATION (CLL) 90 73 94 71 95 / 50 20 15 10 10 HOUSTON(IAH) 90 74 94 73 95 / 50 20 15 10 10 GALVESTON (GLS) 88 79 89 79 90 / 50 20 20 10 10 &&
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 14, 5:00 AM CST, 6 hours 35 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 600 AM CDT TUE SEP 14 2004 TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-151200- 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- 600 AM CDT TUE SEP 14 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY OVER THE REGION. LOCALIZED RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF UP TO 2 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM THE STRONGER STORMS. THE STORMS SHOULD DISSIPATE DURING THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. WIND ENERGY FROM HURRICANE IVAN WILL PRODUCE HIGH SWELL WAVES IN THE UPPER TEXAS COASTAL WATERS. THE WAVES WILL IMPACT THE UPPER TEXAS COAST AND BAYS. THIS WILL RESULT IN HIGHER TIDE LEVELS ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. IVAN IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INLAND WELL EAST OF THE AREA LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SEE THE COASTAL FLOOD STATEMENT ISSUED BY THIS OFFICE. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:34 UTC.
Event by event
3 funnel cloud, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Funnel Cloud, Wharton
- When
- September 14, 2:32 PM CST
- Where
- Wharton County, 6 mi NW of El Campo
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 29.278, -96.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Spotted at FM 2546 and Hwy 71.
Funnel Cloud, Washington
- When
- September 14, 2:37 PM CST
- Where
- Washington County, Burton
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 30.215, -96.403 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning, Houston
- When
- September 14, 4:35 PM CST
- Where
- Houston County, Grapeland
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 40 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 31.318, -95.423 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning strike at Grapeland High School during football practice. Twenty-two kept overnight at hospital for observation, all released the next day. One fatality the following day.
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, Houston | 2004-09-15 | 18 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
What these are
- 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
- Tropical Storm in Puerto Rico, September 14 to 17, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Minnesota, September 14 to 17, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Minnesota, September 14 to 19, 2004
- Tropical Storm in U.S. Virgin Islands, September 14 to 17, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Iowa, September 14 to 15, 2004
- Hail in Nebraska, September 14, 2004
- Hurricane in Mississippi, September 14 to 16, 2004
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Texas, September 14, 2004
- Hail in Nebraska, September 14, 2004
- High Surf in Hawaii, September 14 to 15, 2004
- Hail and High Wind in Colorado, September 14, 2004
- Hail in Colorado, September 14, 2004
More
Every storm in Texas in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, September 2004
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: 5422859, 5422860, 5422861, 5422862.