Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1988
Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this flash flood warning at Mar 17, 1988, 3:42 PM CST for Fayette County, Texas. It was in force for 2 hr.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 17, 1988, 3:42 PM CST (21:42 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 17, 1988, 5:50 PM CST
- In force
- 2 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Fayette 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 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 114 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 541 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 334 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 425 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KAUS 172145 COR FFWAUS TXC149-172330- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX 342 PM CST THU MAR 17 1988 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 530 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF TEXAS...FAYETTE AT 330 PM CST AN HEAVY RAINS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE IN THE LA GRANGE AREA AND THEY ALREADY RECEIVED 3.50 INCHES OF RAIN. THIS HEAVY RAIN COULD CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER HOUR AND LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINS COULD CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER TWO HOURS. DONT LET CHILDREN PLAY IN WATERWAYS SUBJECT TO RAPID RISING OR SWIFT MOVING WATER. REMEMBER THAT DEATHS DURING FLASH FLOODING ARE OFTEN RELATED TO MOTORISTS DRIVING THROUGH FLOODED LOW WATER CROSSINGS.
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, Mar 17, 10:55 AM CST, 4 hours 47 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO TX 11 AM CST THU MAR 17 1988 ...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSHOWERS INCREASING OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS... AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE OF LOW PRESSURE IS MOVING EAST OUT OF NORTHERN MEXICO AND IS MAKING THE ATMOSPHERE UNSTABLE OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH TEXAS. MUCH NEEDED RAIN IS FALLING IN A RATHER BROAD AREA ABOUT 150 MILES WIDE FROM NEAR EAGLE PASS NORTHEAST TO NEAR COLLEGE STATION. THUNDERSHOWERS IN THE AREA ARE MOVING NORTHEAST 20 TO 25 MPH. A COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS WEATHER SYSTEM IS LOCATED FROM NEAR DEL RIO NORTHEAST TO NEAR JUNCTION. THE FRONT IS MOVING SOUTHEAST 10 TO 15 MPH. TEMPERATURES DROP RAPIDLY INTO THE 40S JUST BEHIND THE FRONT. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO DROP TONIGHT AND FRIDAY OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. SKIES ARE EXPECTED TO BE CLEARING FRIDAY AND WITH CLEAR SKIES FRIDAY NIGHT FREEZING TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE NORTHERN PART OF THE AREA. RANCHERS AND [ FARMERS ARE URGED TO LISTEN FOR LATER INFORMATION ON THIS OUTBREAK OF COLD AIR. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAINFALL OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS TONIGHT AS THE WEATHER SYSTEM MOVES INTO A HIGHERf MOISTURE FIELD. PERSONS IN SOUTH TEXAS SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS THROUGHOUT THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 11:55 AM CST, 3 hours 47 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO TX 1205 PM CST THU MAR 17 1988 ...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FORMING OVER THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY... AT NOON RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WERE FORMING FROM JUST NORTHWEST OF HONDO OR 40 MILES WEST OF SAN ANTONIO NORTHEAST TO 40 MILES WEST OF AUSTIN. THIS LINE OF THUNDERTORMS WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST ABOUT 15 MILES AN HOUR. SOME OF THE STRONGER OR MORE INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS FOR THE NEXT 2 TO 3 HOURS AS THE LINE MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. AT THIS TIME...THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SEVERE CRITERIA FOR WARNINGS. LISTEN TO COMMERCIAL RADIO..TV..OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS ON THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SYSTEM.
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 1:30 PM CST, 2 hours 12 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
125 PM CST THU MAR 17 1988
...SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD STATEMENT...
HEAVY RAINFALL...OF NEARLY TWO INCHES HAS FALLEN OVER TRAVIS COUNTY
IN THE PAST TWO HOURS.
MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS FLOODED LOW WATER CROSSINGS
OR LOW LYING AREAS THAT ARE PRONE TO FLOODING.
SMALL STREAMS MAY TEND TO REACH FLOOD STAGE FOR THE NEXT HOUR OR SO.
THE HEAVY RAINS ARE EXPETED TO END WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR...BUT LIGHT
TO MODERATE RAINS WILL CONTINUE WITH THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED
AGAIN TONIGHT.
THE HEAVY RAINS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST.
cSpecial weather statement, Mar 17, 1:31 PM CST, 2 hours 11 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX 125 PM CST THU MAR 17 1988 ...SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD STATEMENT... HEAVY RAINFALL...OF NEARLY TWO INCHES HAS FALLEN OVER TRAVIS COUNTY WITHIN THE PAST TWO HOURS. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS FLOODED LOW WATER CROSSINGS OR LOW LYING AREAS THAT ARE PRONE TO FLOODING. SMALL STREAMS MAY TEND TO REACH FLOOD STAGE FOR THE NEXT HOUR OR SO. THE HEAVY RAINS ARE EXPETED TO fEND WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR...BUT LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINS WILL CONTINUE WITH THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED AGAIN TONIGHT. THE HEAVY RAINS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST.
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 1:35 PM CST, 2 hours 7 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX 125 PM CST THU MAR 17 1988 HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER PARTS OF CENTRAL TEXAS. WEATHER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS IN MILAM COUNTY THAT COULD POSSIBLE PRODUCE SMALL HAIL AS IT MOVES NORTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA. OTHER THUNDERSTOMS HAVE PRODUCED LOCAL HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS OVER THE CENTRAL TEXAS AS THESE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOPE ALONG AND AHEAD OF A COLD FRONxT MOVING INTO THE CENTRAL TEXAS AREA. MARBLE SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED IN DEL VALLE IN AN EARLIER THUNDER STORM.
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 2:09 PM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX 205 PM CST THU MAR 17 1988 WEATHER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVIEST RAINS HAVE MOVED EAST OF THE AUSTIN AREA. THIS WAS LOCATED FROM NEAR CAMERON SOUTH THROUGH THE ELGIN AREA THEN SOUTHWEST TO NEAR SAN MARCOS. THIS WAS IN A LARGE AREA OF MOSTLY LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS. THIS AREA IS ABOUT 75 MILES WIDE AND EXTENDS FROM NORTHEAST OF WACO SOUTHWEST THROUGH THE AUSTIN AREA TO NEAR SAN ANTONIO. THIS AREA OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORM CONTINUES TO MOVE EAST AND SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT 15 MPH.
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 1988Every flash flood warning in 1988
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.