Houston: We Have a Tornado Emergency!

On the afternoon of January 24th, 2023 a tornado touched down in heavily populated southeast Houston, then moved quickly northeast through the cities of Pasadena and Deer Park, crossed the Houston Ship Channel, and then dissipated in Baytown. As the tornado intensified and grew in size over Pasadena, an ongoing tornado warning was upgraded to a tornado emergency, which was the first tornado emergency ever issued by the Houston National Weather Service (NWS) office.

The decision to issue a tornado emergency was based solely on radar data, as the EF3 rated multi-vortex tornado was obscured in heavy rain. A distinct tornado debris signature was present and it extended up to 10,000 feet above the surface. In this presentation we will walk through the warning decision making process, and explore the impact of the emergency wording from our media and emergency management partners’ perspective. Considering the 23+ mile long track, large size (width of ~1/2 mile), and peak intensity (140 mph) of the tornado, it is remarkable that there were no fatalities and only one serious injury reported. To shed light on why there were no deaths, partner messaging and actions will be presented, as well as any lessons learned from after action reports and the public’s response to warnings/messaging. Finally, this presentation will provide the demographics/vulnerabilities of the impacted communities and any challenges that those present.