What Was New in 2002?

Page Update: Fri. December 20, 2002

• The latest issue of "Storm Signals" is now on the newstands. Some of the subjects explored in this latest issue: Hurricane Lili Evacuation Decisions, a Tropical Storm Fay Summary, the Southeast Texas Winter Season Outlook. Check it out!

Previous Page Update: Thu. December 12, 2002

• All November F-6 files are now complete. We again apologize for the delay.
• Our November 2002 Climate Summary is now available.

Previous Page Update: Mon. December 9, 2002

• We continue to work on updating our November F-6's. All locations except Huntsville, Sugar Land and Palacios are now fixed. We expect to have these three files completed in the next few days. Again, sorry for the inconvenience.
• We now have some class dates set up for our SKYWARN 2003 season. We look forward to seeing those of you who are Skywarn veterans or those of you who would like to attend one of our meetings for the very first time. Also, if you have not scheduled your meeting with us yet, now is the time to do so.
• Dr. Gray and crew have come out with their 2003 Hurricane Season Outlook.

Previous Page Update: Tue. December 3, 2002

• More problems. There will be a delay in getting the complete November monthly climatic data online. As it stands now, we are only updated to November 24th. A computer network crash at the end of last month is the culprit. Sorry for the inconvenience. A labored hand edit may be the solution in due time.
• The 2002 Hurricane Season has officially come to an end. Here are recaps of what happened in the Atlantic and what happened in the Pacific.
• Here are some thoughts on how El Niño affected the 2002 Hurricane Season.
• December Severe Weather Highlights for Southeast Texas in recent years include an F2 tornado, an ice storm, severe thunderstorms, floods, and an arctic outbreak.
• Severe weather reports are now updated through August 2002.

Previous Page Update: Wed. November 27, 2002

• Our telephone recording system has been fixed. Oue techs were able to get the system back up and running yesterday. We thank all of you for your patience during the down time. Again...our apologies to all for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Previous Page Update: Fri. November 22, 2002

• For those who have been calling - Yes, our telephone recording system is BROKEN. Many apologies to all for this inconvenience. We were hoping to have this fixed soon but the telephone gods are not cooperating. :-) The latest estimate from our techs is maybe Monday, Nov 25th for the system to be back up and running. *fingers crossed*
• Thursday also marked an "interesting" anniversary for us. It was ten years ago to the day when Southeast Texas experienced one of its most dramatic tornado outbreaks. Among the many tornadoes that occurred on November 21, 1992, the worst was an F4 tornado that struck the Channelview area of Harris county. Incredibly, not a single life was lost in this violent episode of Houston severe weather.

Previous Page Update: Sat. November 16, 2002

• Our Experimental Graphical Forecast Page has gotten a new look. For those who may have forgotten, these Graphical Forecasts are generated via IFPS - the NWS' newest wrinkle in forecasting. This system allows our forecasters to produce a digital database which will be readily accessible to the general public. More information on this can be found on our IFPS page.

Previous Page Update: Sun. November 3, 2002

• El Nino 2002-3003 is now at moderate strength. Here is what NOAA thinks will be the impact of this El Nino pattern on the nation.
• A warmer and wetter winter season is normally expected across Southeast Texas during moderate El Nino events. It looks like we're off to that wet start with October 2002 becoming the third wettest October on record for Houston, the fourth wettest October on record for College Station and the sixth wettest October on record for Galveston.
• The Corpus Christi National Weather Service Office has produced an excellent summary of their October 24th tornado event. A radar animation is also available here.
• The October Monthly Tropical Weather Summaries for both the Atlantic Basin and for the Eastern Pacific are now available.
• Our October 2002 Climate Summary is now available.
• And finally, November Severe Weather Highlights for Southeast Texas in recent years include several major flood events and the most dramatic tornado outbreak in the history of the Houston area which happened ten years ago.

Previous Page Update: Sun. October 20, 2002

• Here is an excellent NOAA article on the extremely important and successful job the NOAA Hurricane Aircraft did during Hurricane Isidore and Hurricane Lili.
• The Climate Prediction Center has come out with their temperature and precipitation outlooks for November 2002 and the November-December-January 2002-2003 time period. They have also issued their long range temperature and precipitation outlooks that go out as far as November-December-January 2003-2004.

Previous Page Update: Tue. October 8, 2002

• NOAA research radars captured images of Hurricane Lili as she made landfall in Louisiana last week.
• The Preliminary Storm Report for Hurricane Lili is now available for your persusal.
• The September Monthly Tropical Weather Summaries for both the Atlantic Basin and for the Eastern Pacific are now available.
• Our September 2002 Climate Summary is now available.

Previous Page Update: Tue. October 1, 2002

• Another month...another tropical system in the Gulf. This time it's Lili. For the latest on this storm, please click here.
• Going a few storms back...the Preliminary Storm Report for Tropical Storm Fay available for your persusal.
• The September 2002 climate datum are now available.

Previous Page Update: Thu. September 12, 2002

• The National Hurricane Center has an archive page that contains all of the advisories and discussions of this year's tropical cyclones. To date, there have been six tropical storms and one hurricane in the Atlantic Basin this year. The latest tropical depression (#9) is brewing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
• The August 2002 Climate Summary is now available.

Previous Page Update: Tue. September 3, 2002

• The August Monthly Tropical Weather Summaries for both the Atlantic Basin and for the Eastern Pacific are now available.
• September Severe Weather Highlights for Southeast Texas in recent years include the unprecedented 2000 Heat Wave, Hurricane Chantal, Tropical Storm Frances, and several flood events.
• The August 2002 climate datum are now available.

Previous Page Update: Thu. August 22, 2002

• Based on new research, scientists have upgraded 1992's Hurricane Andrew from a Category 4 to a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. More information on what Andrew looked like and what damage Andrew did can be found here.

Previous Page Update: Mon. August 19, 2002

• Another heavy rain event struck portions of Southeast Texas last Thursday. Some incredible record breaking totals were observed in Galveston. Here is a Public Information Statement that summarizes some of the new records established in Galveston and other area rainfall totals observed during this event.
• It was ten years ago this week that Hurricane Andrew wreaked havoc across South Miami, Florida and coastal Louisiana. Check out NOAA's special Hurricane Andrew website which has links to everything Andrew.

Previous Page Update: Mon. August 12, 2002

• NOAA has released its latest El Nino and 2002 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlooks. A reduction in Atlantic Basin hurricane activity is now expected due to a strengthening El Nino. Check out the official NOAA forecast here.
• Dr. Gray has also issued his forecast update for the 2002 Hurricane Season. His forecast is also calling for a reduction in hurricane activity.
• And if you missed our announcement on the 9th...Our Summer 2002 issue of "Storm Signals" has hit the streets.

Previous update: Fri. August 9, 2002

• The latest issue of "Storm Signals" has hit the streets. The highlights for this installment include the 2002 Hurricane Season forecast and storm names, information on Heat Waves, the New Climate Normals and an article about The Rats that Left the Ship(?). Check it out!

Previous update: Tue. August 6, 2002

• The July 2002 Climate Summary is now available.

Previous update: Thu. August 1, 2002

• August Severe Weather Highlights for Southeast Texas in recent years include a heat wave, Hurricane Chantal, tornadoes, hailstorms, and high winds.
• The number of tornadoes across the U.S. so far this year is the lowest seen since 1988. As a result, fewer fatalities have been observed.
• The latest drought outlook was released on July 18th. Check out the reasoning behind the forecast.
• The July Monthly Tropical Weather Summaries for both the Atlantic Basin and for the Eastern Pacific are now available.
• The July 2002 climate datum are now available. Most noteworthy is College Station's rainfall total of 5.66 inches which makes July 2002 the 9th wettest July in College Station's history.
• Finally, repairs on the KHGX radar that was struck by lightning last month have been completed. We thank all of you for your patience during the down time and again apologize for all the inconveniences this may have caused.

Previous update: Mon. July 15, 2002

• A lightning strike last Friday (7/12) did some major damage to the KHGX radar. Techs are working hard to restore the data flow but parts are still on order. Apologies to all for the inconvenience.

Previous update: Sun. July 3, 2002

• June was an inactive month in the tropics in the Atlantic. In the Eastern Pacific, however, May and June saw some activity.
• You can view the first image from NOAA-17, the country's newest environmental satellite, which was launched on June 24th.
• The June 2002 climate datum and the June 2002 Climate Summary are now available.

Previous update: Sun. June 16, 2002

• Drought continues to plague a large part of the nation. The latest U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook from NOAA calls for the drought to worsen in the west and ease in the east. Check out the story and map for the nationwide outlook.
• The continuing drought conditions across Texas have the potential to rival the 1998 Texas drought which cost the agricultural industry nearly $2 billion.
• Houston area Daily pollen and mold spore count forecasts can now be found in our "Miscellaneous Section". This data is compliments of the City of Houston's Department of Health and Human Services.

Previous update: Mon. June 10, 2002

• At this time last year, we were watching the remnants of Tropical Storm Allison move east of Texas and on her way toward the mid-Atlantic states. It is now official - Allison has been retired from the list of hurricane names. Her replacement in the newly updated 2007 list is Andrea.
• The latest El Nino forecast was issued on June 6th.
• Galveston's "Normals, Means and Extremes" section now has the 1971-2000 climate normals for each month of the year.

Previous update: Sat. June 1, 2002

• The 2002 Hurricane Season has begun! If you have not already done so, it would be a great time to develop and review your plans for this season. An excellent internet site to help your planning efforts is the National Hurricane Awareness Week Webpage. Topical cyclones can develop quickly and close by - remember Tropical Storm Allison?
• Staying on the hurricane theme, we have made some changes to our Tropical Page. And finally, Dr. Gray as made his forecast update for the 2002 Hurricane Season.
• Changing themes a little, several lives have already been lost this year on our area beaches to conditions similar to rip currents. NOAA has developed a website on this dangerous phenomenon.
• A new weather satellite is scheduled for launch later this month.
• The May 2002 climate datum and the May 2002 Climate Summary are now available.

Previous update: Wed. May 22, 2002

• The official start of the 2002 Hurricane Season begins in just over one week!
• The NOAA forecast for the upcoming season is now available.
• Dr. Gray's forecast for the 2002 Hurricane Season(issued on April 5th) is also available. His updated forecast will be issued on May 31st.

Previous update: Sat. May 11, 2002

• The 2002 Houston/Galveston Hurricane Workshop was a great success!. We would like to thank everyone who got to attend the meeting...with a special thanks going out to all of our speakers. Stay tuned to our webpage - we hope to have some pictures of the event online soon. If you have any comments or questions about our workshop, please email us at sr-hgx.webmaster@noaa.gov. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!
• There are still several more hurricane workshops/meetings you can attend. See the latest information on our Hurricane Workshops and Meetings page.
• NOAA forecasters are saying a weak or moderate El Ni�o event is likely to develop during the next six-to-nine months, but global impacts should be less than those experienced during the strong 1997-98 El Ni�o.
• Some very fascinating and eye-opening information on Billion Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters between 1980 and 2001 is available through the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Now included on this list...Tropical Storm Allison!.

Previous update: Fri. May 3, 2002

• A final reminder...the 2002 Houston/Galveston Hurricane Workshop will be on Wednesday, May 8. This year's workshop theme will be Allison: An Inland Flood Odyssey. We look forward to seeing everyone there.
• We have added the Fort Bend County Annual Hurricane Workshop to our Hurricane Workshops and Meetings page. Check it out to find if a meeting is scheduled in your area. This page will continue to be updated when additional meetings are scheduled.
• Keeping the hurricane theme going, the National Hurricane Awareness Week is May 19-25, 2002. The website is an excellent source of everything hurricane and is a great location to learn what you can do for yourself, your family and your business in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season. The start of the 2002 Hurricane Season is less than one month away!
• The Fort Worth National Weather Service Office has posted excellent descriptions on their Tarrant County and Ellis County tornadoes that struck on April 16th.
• Just a reminder...the latest issue of "Storm Signals"(Volume 61/Spring 2002) is now available.
• The April 2002 climate datum have been compiled.
• The April 2002 Climate Summary is now available.

Previous update: Sat. April 27, 2002

• The latest issue of "Storm Signals" is now available. Some of the subjects covered in this issue include more information about the 2002 Houston/ Galveston Hurricane Workshop, a climate review of the spring thus far and a very special Staff Spotlight. Happy Reading!

Previous update: Wed. April 17, 2002

• Lightning Safety Awareness Week will be held April 28-May 4. You can find some very important and life saving information at this website.
• Once again...the 2002 Houston/Galveston Hurricane Workshop will be on Wednesday, May 8. This year's workshop theme will be Allison: An Inland Flood Odyessy. Keep checking back on our webpages for the latest updates.
• Additional hurricane workshops and town meetings can be found at our Hurricane Workshops and Meetings page. Check it out to find if a meeting is scheduled in your area. This page will be updated when additional meetings are scheduled.

Previous update: Thu. April 11, 2002

• The latest NOAA report on El Nino says the U.S. could feel an impact soon. Check out the article to find what effect this may have on Southeast Texas.
• The severe weather season got off to a late start this year. Through March 25th, there were only 11 tornado touchdowns across the nation.
• A link (from the Buffalo National Weather Service Office) is now on our Climate Page that explains the details of the F-6 climate report.
• The March 2002 Climate Summary is now available.
• Just another reminder to mark your calendars...the 2002 Houston/Galveston Hurricane Workshop is still scheduled for Wednesday, May 8. This year's workshop theme will be Allison: An Inland Flood Odyessy. Keep checking back on our webpages for the latest updates.

Previous update: Mon. April 1, 2002

• The last of the 2001 severe weather reports have finally been downloaded onto the server.
• The March 2002 datum have been compiled.

Previous update: Mon. March 25, 2002

• Mark your calendars...the 2002 Houston/Galveston Hurricane Workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, May 8. This year's workshop theme will be Allison: An Inland Flood Odyessy. Keep checking back on our webpages for the latest updates.
• The latest installment of "Storm Signals" has belatedly hit the streets. The Spring 2002 issue includes the following topics: a 2001 Climate Summary, Allison Floods and IFPS. Happy Reading!

Previous update: Wed. March 20, 2002

• BIG NEWS! The NWSO Houston/Galveston is now producing graphical forecast images and these images are now available to you on the internet via our homepage. This represents a major change in the way we create and present our forecasts to our users. So, what does this mean to you and how do we produce these images? Check out our IFPS page for information on the latter. And as for the former...we truly hope that these new experimental forecasts will mean better forecasts along wtih increased versatility in which we present the data to you, our customers. Please let us know what you think about these changes. For more specific questions about the IFPS program, please contact either: Charles Roeseler or Matthew Moreland. One last programming note: due to time constraints...only the retro-fitted pages will have the Experimental Forecast link on the left side menu.
• And speaking of the retro-fitting project... While the pace has slowed some...the retro-fitting of our homepage continues on (and on). The target timeframe for completion of this project is the end of April. Thank you for your patience.
• This month's Houston AMS meeting is scheduled for March 27.

Previous update: Tue. March 5, 2002

• Severe Weather Awareness Week is March 3-9, 2002.
• February ended as cold as March began...but have no fear...spring is near. And with the warmer weather around the corner...the severe weather season cannot be too far behind. Have you attended a SKYWARN class yet? Time is running out!
• A special thanks to all those who have been kind enough to send us your comments on our new webpage look. We really do appreciate the feedback. More information on this webpage change can be found in this article.
• Other "housekeeping" notes: 1) today is the last day to view the FRAMES version of our homepage. New guidelines and time constraints have finally caught up with us. Apologies to all those who prefer this page and a warm "Thank You" for your support. And 2) the other pages of this homepage will be "retro-fitted" in the coming months with the new banners and whatnot. Some minor tweaking of the new front page is also a very good possibility in the near future. Please bear with us as we continue on our quest to bring you the best webpages possible.
• The February 2002 datum have been compiled.

Previous update: Tues. February 26, 2002

• And the changes keep coming... The front page now has a new clickable map. This handy-dandy new map is color coordinated for your viewing pleasure. We have also included a text-only Site Map with this update.

Previous update: Sat. February 23, 2002

• As you may have already noticed - we have a new front page. (Well, at least the beginning stages of a new front page.) With the internet becoming one of the more popular ways in which our data is desseminated...new guidelines have been mandated with regard to all National Weather Service homepages. We hope that you find this new layout easier to use. Stay tuned...it looks like more changes are on the way...

Previous update: Fri. February 8, 2002

• Sometime this year, in addition to the standard marine text products you currently receive, the National Weather Service will introduce their marine forecasts in a graphical format. To help us help you, please take a look at the proposed web layout for these new forecast products (many of the links on this layout do not work, but your overall opinion regarding the layout is what we are currently interested in). An alternate example can be found here. Also, all of the links that you have been used to (and more) on our marine webpage will still be available in the future - even though you do not see them on this layout. Almost everything will be "clickable" and explanations of what each graphic is can be found on the Instructions Page. Please take a look at this Instructions Page first before proceeding to the layout so you understand all of its capabilities. Please forward any comments and/or questions to Brian.Kyle@noaa.gov.
• The next Houston AMS meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 21st at 7 PM.

Previous update: Mon. February 4, 2002

• The January 2002 Climate Summary is now available.

Previous update: Fri. February 1, 2002

• 2002 Skywarn classes have begun! To see when a class is scheduled in your area or to learn more about this great program, please check out our Skywarn 2002 page. We hope to see you in the coming months.
• Severe Weather Awareness Week 2002 is next month. Please stay tuned to our What's New? section for more details on this very informative weather week.
• The National Hurricane Center/Tropical Prediction Center (NHC/TPC) has finished their Tropical Cyclone Report on Allison. We have also added a link to this summary on our Tropical Storm Allison Page.
• Here is a NOAA story on the improvements being shown in the 3-day Hurricane Forecasting.
• The January 2002 datum have been compiled.

Previous update: Thu. January 10, 2002

• Well, it's that time of year once again. SKYWARN 2002 is about to get underway. If you have not made a meeting in the last couple of years or so, it may not be a bad idea to re-acquaint yourself with the program. Also if you have not scheduled your meeting with us yet, now is the time to do so. Happy chasing!
• Is El Nino Coming Back? Evidence is growing over the Pacific Ocean of a return of this weather pattern. This NOAA article also contains several links to other El Nino websites.

Previous update: Tue. January 8, 2002

• The December 2001 Climate Summary is done. This product which contains December 2001 climate data and some area rainfall totals for all of 2001 can also be found in the January 2002 section of our Public Information Statements Page.

Previous update: Wed. January 2, 2002

• A Happy and a Weather Safe New Year to all!
• 2001 was Houston's third wettest year on record. The Palmer Drought Severity Index issued on December 15, 2001 shows just how wet our area has been and how wet a large part of Texas has been. Weren't we talking drought this time last year?
• Here is an update on GOES 12, the nation's newest environmental satellite, which was launched back in July. This satellite will eventually replace one of the country's older weather satellites, when needed.
• Here is an early December article on some hurricane research being conducted by federal, university and military meteorologists. This research will use data gathered in the 2001 Hurricane Season and will eventually result in improved hurricane forecasting.
• Here is a review of 2001 U.S. weather. A more detailed review of worldwide weather during 2001 can be found in NOAA's and NCDC's report on Climate of 2001 - Annual Review Preliminary Report.
• There will be another Houston AMS meeting some time this month.
• The December 2001 datum have been compiled. The year-end climate summary for 2001 is being worked on and will be out by next week.