Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1992

Flash Flood Warning 88, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

September 21, 1992Travis County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this flash flood warning at Sep 21, 1992, 7:30 PM CDT for Travis County, Texas. It was in force for 90 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 21, 1992, 7:30 PM CDT (00:30 UTC)
Expired
Sep 21, 1992, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
90 min
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Travis County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Stephenville/Cla, TX (KSEP), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 212 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, Stephenville/Cla, TX at 00:00Z on 1992-09-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 58 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, Stephenville/Cla, TX at 00:00Z on 1992-09-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 40 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
58 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-60 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2560 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
55 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 220030
FFWAUS
TXC453-220200-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
730 PM CDT MON SEP 21 1992
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...TRAVIS COUNTY
 
AT 726 PM...RADAR SHOWED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHERN AND
WESTERN TRAVIS COUNTY BEGINNING TO MOVE THROUGH THE IMMEDIATE AUSTIN
METROPOLITAN AREA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SLOWLY TO THE EAST
AND SOUTHEAST.
 
TORRENTIAL RAINS IN EXCESS OF FOUR INCHES HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED
PREVIOUSLY WITH THESE STORMS.  LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING IS LIKELY
UNTIL 9PM.  SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS WILL BE THE FIRST TO RISE AND MAY
DO SO RAPIDLY AND WITHOUT WARNING.  STREET FLOODING IS ALREADY
OCCURRING OVER PARTS OF THE WARNED AREA AND MOTORISTS SHOULD STOP AND
SEEK SAFE SHELTER ON HIGH GROUND.
 
WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...GET INSIDE. DON'T USE TELE-
PHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS OF
FLOODED ROADWAYS AND 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, Sep 21, 3:31 PM CDT, 3 hours 59 minutes before
TXZ030-034>037-212130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
330 PM CDT MON SEP 21 1992

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER THE HILL COUNTRY...

AT 325 PM...RADAR INDICATED A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS
FROM 10 MILES NORTH OF FREDERICKSBURG THROUGH LAKE BUCHANAN TO LAMPASAS.

THE MOVEMENT OF THE THUNDERSTORMS HAD NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED.

PERSONS THROUGHOUT CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE HILL COUNTRY...ESPECIALLY
THOSE XALONG THE UPPER HIGHLAND LAKES SHOULD KEEP AN EYE TO THE SKY AND
MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

STAY TUNED FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO.
WH
Special weather statement, Sep 21, 4:16 PM CDT, 3 hours 14 minutes before
TXZ030-034>037-212210-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
410 PM CDT MON SEP 21 1992

...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS NOW 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF AUSTIN...

AT 4 PM...RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM NEAR WACO THROUGH
BURNET AND LAKE BUCHANAN TO NORTH OF FREDERICKSBURG.  THE NORTHERN END
OF THAT LINE WAS MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

THE HIGHEST RAINFALL RATE...NEAR ONE INCH PER HOUR...WAS LOCATED JUST
NORTH OF BERTRAM.

PERSONS AROUND THE HIGHLAND LAKES EASTWARD TO THE INTERSTATE NEAR
GEORGETOWN SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLE
HAIL UNTIL AROUND 6 PM.   BRIEF HEAVY RAINS MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY
CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.
JVD
Special weather statement, Sep 21, 4:39 PM CDT, 2 hours 51 minutes before
TXZ030-034>037-212230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
435 PM CDT MON SEP 21 1992

...THUNDERSTORMS 30 MILES NORTHWEST OF AUSTIN...

AT 430 PM...RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM KILLEEN/TEMPLE
SOUTHWESTWARD ACROSS WESTERN WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND OVER SOUTHERN BURNET
AND LLANO COUNTIES.  THE MOST INTENSE STORM WAS NEAR MARBLE FALLS AND
BURNET WITH AN ESTIMATED RAINFALL RATE BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES PER HOUR.
THE NORTHERN END OF THE LINE WAS MOVING TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH
WHILE THE SOUTHERN SHOWED LITTLE MOVEMENT.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY AFFECT WESTERN TRAVIS AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY
ALONG THE INTERSTATE AROUND 6 PM.  BE PREPARED FOR STRONG GUSTY WILNDS
AND POSSIBLE HAIL.
JVD
Special weather statement, Sep 21, 6:54 PM CDT, 36 minutes before
TXZ035-039-220200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO, TX
655 PM CDT MON SEP 21 1992

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR COMAL COUNTY UNTIL MIDNIGHT...

AT 655 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS NORTH AND NORTHWEST OF THE AUSTIN AREA.  THIS LINE WAS MOVING
SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR AND COULD POSE A THREAT TO PERSONS
IN COMAL COUNTY LATER THIS EVENING.

THE LINE OF STORMS HAS PRODUCED SEVERAL OCCURRENCES OF WIND IN EXCESS OF
60 MILES AN HOUR.  SOME ISOLATED DAMAGE HAS RESULTED...INCLUDING SOME
BUILDING DAMAGE AND DOWNED TREES.

THESE STORMS WERE BEING SPAWNED BY A SURFACE TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE THAT
WAS SEPARATING VERY MOIST AIR TO ITS EAST AND EXTREMELY DRY AIR TO ITS WEST.
THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE MOIST AIR WAS VERY UNSTABLE.  RESIDENTS OF SOUTH
CENTRAL TEXAS...ESPECIALLY IN COMAL COUNTY...CAN EXPECT THESE STORMS TO
PERSIST THROUGHOUT THE EVENING HOURS.  IN ADDITION TO THE THREAT OF HIGH
WIND...LARGE HAIL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL COULD
ACCOMPANY THESE THUNDERSTORMS.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL MONITOR THIS WEATHER SYSTEM CLOSELY
FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.  ADDITIONAL BULLETINS WILL BE BROADCAST OVER
LOCAL RADIO...TELEVISION AND NOAA WEATHER RADIO.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 21, 7:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXTravis90 min
Sep 21, 7:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXLee53 min
Sep 21, 8:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBurleson117 min
Sep 21, 8:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXFayette117 min
Sep 21, 9:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXGonzales53 min
Sep 21, 10:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXLavaca55 min
Sep 22, 1:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBastrop59 min
Sep 22, 6:54 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXWebb3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 1992Every flash flood warning in 1992

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.