Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1986

Flash Flood Warning 50, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

September 6, 1986Travis County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this flash flood warning at Sep 6, 1986, 2:20 AM CDT for Travis County, Texas. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 6, 1986, 2:20 AM CDT (07:20 UTC)
Expired
Sep 6, 1986, 5:15 AM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Travis County, TX

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Victoria Regiona, TX (KVCT), launched 00:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 186 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Victoria Regiona, TX at 00:00Z on 1986-09-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1681 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Victoria Regiona, TX at 00:00Z on 1986-09-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -7 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1681 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1176 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KAUS 060720
FFWAUS
TXC453-061015-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
220 AM CDT SAT SEP 6 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 515 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

TEXAS...TRAVIS

AT 205  AM CDT A VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED OVER SOUTHERN
TRAVIS COUNTY AND ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM OVER THE HILLS JUST WEST OF
AUSTIN. THIS AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS PRODUCED VERY HEAVY RAINS
OVER SOUTHERN TRAVIS COUNTY WITH UP TO THREE INCHES OF RAIN AT
BERGSTRAM AFB AND SOME FLOODING IN CREEDMORE AREA..ALSO SOME LOW
WATER CROSSINGS HAVE BEEN FLOODED IN THE WEST LAKE HILLS AREA.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING SLOWLY NORTHEAST AND COULD POSSIBLE
PRODUCE HEAVY RAINS OVER OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTY LATER TONIGHT.

REMEMBER THAT DEATHS DURING FLASH FLOODING ARE OFTEN RELATED TO
MOTORISTS DRIVING THROUGH FLOODED LOW WATER CROSSINGS.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..YOU SHOULD GO TO A SAFE PLACE
IMMEDIATELY AND YOU SHOULD ASK THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
TO RELAY YOUR SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS TO THE LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE OFFICE.

PLEASE ~LISTEN TO YOUR LOCAL RADIO..TV..OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR
LATER STATEMENTS REGARDING THIS HEAVY RAIN EPISODE.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 5, 8:30 PM CDT, 5 hours 50 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO TX
830 PM CDT FRI SEP 5 1986

..SCATTERED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS..

AT 830 PM SCATTERED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER THE CITY OF SAN
ANTONIO AND EXTENDED NORTH INTO KENDALL AND COMAL COUNTIES.  THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH.

WINDS HAVE GUSTED TO NEAR 30 MILES AN HOUR IN SAN ANTONIO ALONG WITH
PERIODS OF BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING.

BRIEF HEAVY RAIN..STRONG GUSTY WINDS..FREQUENT LIGHTNING..AND POSSIBLE
SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS OVER BEXAR..COMAL
AND KENDALL COUNTIES DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO.

MOTORISTS SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE ALERT FaOR FLOODING OF ROADWAYS..STREETS
AND LOW WATER CROSSINGS IN THESE COUNTIES.  LIGHTNING DANGER WILL ALSO
BE HIGH FOR PEOPLE OUTSIDE PROTECTED SHELTER.
Special weather statement, Sep 5, 9:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 50 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO TX
930 PM CDT FRI SEP 5 1986

..SCATTERED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS..

AT 930 PM SCATTERED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER THE CITY OF
SAN ANTONIO AND EXTENDED NORTH INTO THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY.  THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH.

AT 930 PM HEAVY RAIN WAS REPORTED OVER THE SOUTH AND WEST PARTS OF
SAN ANTONIO.  ALMOST AN INCH OF RAIN HAS FALLEN SOUTH OF DOWNTOWN.
HEAVY RAIN WAS ALSO IN PROGRESS OVER NORTHWEST COMAL COUNTY.

BRIEF HEAVY RAIN..STRONG GUSTY WINDS..FREQUENT LIGHTNING..AND POSSIBLE
SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS OVER BEXAR..COMAL
AND KENDALL COUNTIES DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO.

MOTORISTS SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE ALERT FOR FLOODING OF ROADWAYS..STREETS
AND LOW WATER CROSSINGS IN THESE COUNTIES.  LIGHTNING DANGER WILL ALSO
BE HIGH FOR PEOPLE OUTSIDE PROTECTED SHELTER.
Special weather statement, Sep 5, 9:37 PM CDT, 4 hours 43 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO TX
930 PM CDT FRI SEP 5 1986

..SCATTERED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS..

AT 930 PM SCATTERED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER THE CITY OF
SAN ANTONIO AND EXTENDED NORTH INTO THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY.  THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH.

HEAVY RAIN WAS REPORTED OVER THE SOUTH AND WEST PARTS OF SAN ANTONIO.
ALMOST AN INCH OF RAIN HAS FALLEN SOUTH OF DOWNTOWN.  HEAVY RAIN WAS
ALSO IN PROGRESS OVER NORTHWEST COMAL COUNTY.

BRIEF HEAVY RAIN..STRONG GUSTY WINDS..FREQUENT LIGHTNING..AND POSSIBLE
SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS OVER BEXAR..COMAL
AND KENDALL COUNTIES DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO.

MOTORISTS SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE ALERT FOR FLOODING OF ROADWAYS..STREETS
AND LOW WATER CROSSINGS IN THESE COUNTIES.  LIGHTNING DANGER WILL ALSO
BE HIGH FOR PEOPLE OUTSIDE PROTECTED SHELTER.
Special weather statement, Sep 5, 10:25 PM CDT, 3 hours 55 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DEL RIO TX
1025 PM CDT FRI SEP 5 1986

AT 1015 PM RADAR INDICATED A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF VAL VERDE COUNTY. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM
WAS LOCATED NEAR THE ROUGH CANYON AREA OF LAKE AMISTAD. THUNDERSTORMS
WERE ALSO LOCATED WEST AND SOUTHWEST OF DEL RIO IN MEXICO. ANOTHER
AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED ACROSS SOUTHERN CROCKETT AND SUTTON
COUNTIES..ALSO FROM DEL RIO EAST TO SAN ANTONIO. THE PRECIPITATION
WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH.

RAINFALL REPORTED FROM WITHIN VAL VERDE COUNTY THIS EVENING HAS BEEN
NEAR 1/2 INCH..HOWEVER MAYFIELD STORE SOUTH OF JUNO REPORTED 1.57
INCHES.  AS RA	IN CONTINUES WATER WILL BEGIN TO ACCUMULATE IN LOW
WATER CROSSINGS.

MOTORISTS ARE CAUTIONED TO APPROACH LOW WATER CROSSINGS WITH CARE
AND TO SLOW DOWN ON WET PAVEMENT.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 5, 10:00 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXBexar2 hr
Sep 6, 3:40 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXKendall, Kerr4 hr
Sep 6, 5:21 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXBlanco3 hr
Sep 6, 7:44 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXComal4 hr
Sep 6, 12:02 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXComal118 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 1986Every flash flood warning in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.