Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1989
Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this flash flood warning at May 15, 1989, 4:55 AM CDT for Fayette County, Lee County, Texas. It was in force for 2 hr.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 15, 1989, 4:55 AM CDT (09:55 UTC)
- Expired
- May 15, 1989, 7:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 2 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Fayette County, TX, Lee 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, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 138 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
- 3662 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 888 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 12 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 35 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.8
- Supercell composite
- 3.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KAUS 150958
FFWAUS
TXC149-287-151200-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
455 AM CDT MON MAY 15 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 700 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
...FAYETTE...SOUTHERN LEE
AT 5 AM...RADAR SHOWED A FLASH FLOOD PRODUCING THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF LOCKHART...OR SOME 30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF AUSTIN TO BE
MOVING TO THE EAST AT 20 MPH. THIS STORM WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR
FLASH FLOODING OVER MUCH OF CALDWELL...TRAVIS...HAYS AND BASTROP
COUNTIES AND WILL LIKELY PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING OVER AREAS TO THE
EAST...INCLUDING FAYETTE AND SOUTHERN LEE COUNTIES.
WATERS ROSE TO AS MUCH AS 3 FEET DEEP IN SOME LOW SPOTS AND RAINFALL
RATES STAYED IN THE 2 INCH PER HOUR RATE FOR ABOUT A 40 TO 50 MINUTE
TIME PERIOD.
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT. TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.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, May 15, 12:05 AM CDT, 4 hours 50 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX 1155 PM CDT SUN MAY 14 1989 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A HISTORY OF TORNADIC ACTIVITY AND LARGE HAIL WAS LOCATED 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF LLANO...JUST WEST OF THE SMALL TOWN OF PONTOTOC AND JUST NORTH OF MASON. IT WAS MOVING TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. ON ITS PRESENT MOVEMENT...IT SHOULD PASS VERY CLOSE TO PONTOTOC AND MAY CLOSE TO NEAR LLANO BEFORE 2 AM. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS OUT UNTIL 3 AM CDT FOR A LARGE PART OF CENTRAL TEXAS. PERSONS IN THE HILL COUNTRY...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE UPPER HIGHLAND LAKES SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH POSSIBLE TORNADOES... LARGE HAIL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. DUE TO THE SIZE AND SLOW MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS...LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING WILL BE A DISTINCT LIKELI- HOOD AS THESE STORMS PASS OVER THE HILL COUNTRY SECTIONS.
Local storm report, May 15, 4:40 AM CDT, 15 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
430 AM CDT MON MAY 15 1989
...PRELIMENARY STORM SUMMARY FOR NIGHT/MORNING 15 MAY 1989...
TIME CDT... EVENT
0050 AT 0046 DPS IN KERRVILLE RELAYED REPORT OF 11/2 INCH
HAIL IN SMALL TOWN OF DOSS...EXTREME NORTHWESTERN
GILLESPIE COUNTY.
0119 S.O. IN FREDERICKSBURG RELAYED REPORT OF 1 TO 2 INCH
HAIL IN DOSS WITH BUSTED OUT WINDOWS.
0200 DPS IN KERRVILLE REPORTED HAIL IN FREDERICKSBURG.
0203 S.O. IN FREDERICKSBURG REPORTED HAIL UP TO GOLF BALL
SIZE HAD MOVED OVER NORTHERN GILLESPIE COUNTY.
0229 TOW...NEAR LAKE BUCHANAN...REPORTED WIND GUST TO NEAR
50 MPH AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. NO HAIL.
0329 LAKEWAY AIRPORT...WEST OF AUSTIN...REPORTED RAIN AT
NEAR 1 INCH PER HOUR RATE.
0343 AUSTIN...HWY 183 AND DUVAL RD...SMALL HAIL.
0345 AUTIN...BURNET AND ANDERSON...HEAVY DOWNPOUR.
0345 LAKE AUSTIN AND HWY 360...WINDS 40 MPH PLUS AND
RAINFALL RATE OF ONE INCH PER HOUR.
0355 WIMBERLY...RAINS OF NEAR 3 INCHES IN ONE HOUR.
0410 AUSTIN...HOWARD LANE AND METRIC...FLOODWED TO 4 INCHES
DEEP.
0412 AUSTIN...MANOR ROAD AND SPRINGDALE...FLOODED WITH 6
INCHES OF WATER.
AUSTIN...BERKMAN AND HWY 290...WATER 31/2 FEET DEEP.
END/SO FAR.
.
END/JVDThe office that day
Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 7:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Maverick | 60 min |
| May 14, 8:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Dimmit | 66 min |
| May 14, 10:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Dimmit | 50 min |
| May 14, 10:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | La Salle | 65 min |
| May 15, 12:33 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Gillespie, Llano | 57 min |
| May 15, 1:32 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Kendall | 58 min |
| May 15, 2:02 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Blanco, Burnet, Hays, Travis | 58 min |
| May 15, 3:46 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis | 59 min |
| May 15, 4:20 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | EWX | Bastrop, Caldwell, Travis | 115 min |
| May 15, 7:37 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Jackson | 38 min |
| May 15, 8:14 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Victoria | 46 min |
| May 15, 6:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Gillespie | 62 min |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 1989Every flash flood warning in 1989
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.