This is one of the most important steps in the Severe Weather Warning process. Valid, real-time severe weather reports help not only the NWS meteorologists issuing the watches and warnings during the event... they are also critical for our post storm and verification analyses. Emergency management officials, law enforcement agencies and insurance companies also use this information. Keep in mind that if we do not receive a call or report of damage...we do not have any records of it.
What Type of Weather Do I Report?
Please submit reports to this office at any time after any storm event in which you have witnessed any of the following in Southeast Texas:
Tornado...Funnel Cloud or Waterspout
1 inch hail or larger (Quarter-sized hail or larger)
Wind gusts in excess of 58 mph. (indicate if measured or estimated)
Rainfall amounts 3 inches or greater in a 24hr period
Flash flooding, especially 1 foot or more of water running over a major road or highway
Damage to trees, crops, or structures (houses, buildings, barns or cars)
The NWS also provides severe weather spotter training to emergency management officials, law enforcement agencies and the general public. This program is FREE with classes generally held in various locations from January to April each year. Sessions run about 3 hours long and conducted by NWS personnel. More information about this program can be found in our SKYWARN section.
Who Do I Report Severe Weather to?
If the event is occurring or has just occurred call your local authorities or the National Weather Service immediately and report the damage. The information provided in this form will be used for record keeping only.
Please include the following information in your report if possible:
The EXACT location of the event in relation to a town or road/highway intersection (e.g. 5 miles northeast of Hunstville along State Hwy 19, right before Country Campus).
A description of the event. Please be specific with details (e.g. the size of hail and/or how large the tree or limbs knocked down were).
How Do I Get Old Severe Weather Reports?
The Local Storm Report App allows you to view National Weather Service issued Local Storm Reports.
The National Climatic Data Center has a webpage where you can search for storm events by state, county, event type/size, number of injuries/fatalities and/or amount of property/crop damage. This database (as of 10/21/12) contains severe weather reports from 10/1/06 thru 10/31/12. Search the NCDC Storm Event database to find various types of storms recorded in your county or use other selection criteria as desired.
Below is a list of severe weather reports (by month) for areas around Southeast Texas. These reports should not be regarded as "official" or as the last word in what actually happened. For those needing court certified severe weather documentation, please contact the National Climatic Data Center, located in Asheville, NC.
The SKYWARN program is an integral part of the severe weather warning process. This program helps to train volunteers to be storm spotters for real time sevre weather reports and warning verification. SKYWARN classes are usually held just before the main severe weather season (January to March) each year. These training classes are free and open to the public to attend. More information about this program, a schedule of upcoming classes and other relevant links are listed below.
Below are summaries of semi-recent (1984-2011) severe weather reports. Included in the data are tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, hailstorms, windstorms and icestorms that have affected portions of our county warning area.