Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1994

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

May 16, 1994Galveston County, Harris County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at May 16, 1994, 1:52 AM CDT for Galveston County, Harris County, Texas. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 16, 1994, 1:52 AM CDT (06:52 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1994, 5:00 AM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Galveston County, TX, Harris County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 12 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:56 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 193 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 1994-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 237 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 1994-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 28 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
237 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-154 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1148 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
79 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 KHOU 160654
FFWHOU
TXC167-201-161000-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
152 AM CDT MON MAY 16 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  500 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...CENTRAL GALVESTON COUNTY...CENTRAL HARRIS COUNTY
 
AT 145 AM CDT...A LINE OF THUNDERSTOMS EXTENDED FROM GALVESTON ISLAND
NORTH TO NEAR HOUSTON INTERCONTINNENTAL AIRPORT. RAINFALL RATES OF 11/2
TO 2 INCHES AN HOUR ARE COMMON WITH THESE STORMS. THE LINE WAS MOVING
VERY SLOWLY TO THE NORTH. THE HARRIS COUNTY SHERRIF HAS REPORTED MINOR
STREET FLOODING IN THE VICINITY OF FM 529 AND HIGHWAY 6. NO OTHER
FLOODING HAS BEEN REPORTED AT THIS TIME...HOWEVER THIS HEAVY RAINFALL
COUPLED WITH THE HEAVY RAINFALL OF THE PAST 48 HOURS MAKES THIS A VERY
THREATENING SITUATION.
 
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO
RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH
FLOODING IS OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD
WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER
BEGINS RISING.
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER
COVERS TTHE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW
YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD
BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. MOVE 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.

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at May 15, 8:32 PM CDT, 5 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 8:32 PM CDT, 5 hours 20 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON, TX
831 PM CDT SUN MAY 15 1994

ATTM...CYC CIRCULATION PARKED OVER SE TX AND MID LVL IMPULSE ON H20 VAPOR
SATL PIX MOVG TWD S TX.  AFTN CONVECTION HAD BEEN DVLPG OVER BRAZORIA
COUNTY AND MOVG W.  88D RAINFALL ESTIMATES HAVE BEEN >2 INCHES/HR IN
EXTREME NW BRAZORIA/EXTREME S FORT BEND COUNTIES.  EXPECT ACTIVITY TO
WEAKEN WITH CONTINUED LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING.  FRONT FCST TO BECOME NEARLY
STATIONARY OVER SE TX NEXT 48 HRS.  WITH MID/UPPER LVL FEATURES REMAINING
OVER FA...WILL LWR (NOT ELIMINATE) POPS TONIGHT ALL COUNTIES EXCEPT SRN FA.
REST OF PACKAGE LOOKS GOOD.  WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW MODELS PERFORM
WITH NO UPPER AIR DATA SRN HALF OF TX.

42

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 15, 10:58 PM CDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
TXZ211-227-213-212-160600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
1058 PM CDT SUN MAY 15 1994

...SHOWERS WITH HEAVY RAIN AFFECTING PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

AT 1055 PM...SHOWERS CONTAINING MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WERE FALLING OVER
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FROM BRENHAM TO PEARLAND.  HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL
INDICATES UP TO 1.50 OF RAIN HAS OCCURRED IN THE KATY AREA.  SATELLITE A
RADAR ESTIMATES INDICATE BETWEEN 1.50 AND 2.50 INCHES OF RAIN MAY HAVE
FALLEN WITHIN THE PAST THREE HOURS NEAR INTERSTATE 10 BETWEEN KATY AND
SEALY. THESE RAINS CONTINUE TO REFORM SOUTH OF THE HOUSTON AREA AND MOVE
TO THE NORTHWEST ACROSS THE SAME LOCATIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED
RAIN. ANY FURTHER RAINFALL MAY LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLOODING. MOTORISTS
SHOULD USE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN DRIVING IN AREAS WITH STANDING WATER.
Special weather statement, May 15, 10:59 PM CDT, 2 hours 53 minutes before
TXZ211-227-213-212-160600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
1058 PM CDT SUN MAY 15 1994

...SHOWERS WITH HEAVY RAIN AFFECTING PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

AT 1055 PM...SHOWERS CONTAINING MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WERE FALLING OVER
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FROM BRENHAM TO PEARLAND.  HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL
INDICATES UP TO 1.50 OF RAIN HAS OCCURRED IN THE KATY AREA.  SATELLITE A
RADAR ESTIMATES INDICATE BETWEEN 1.50 AND 2.50 INCHES OF RAIN MAY HAVE
FALLEN WITHIN THE PAST THREE HOURS NEAR INTERSTATE 10 BETWEEN KATY AND
SEALY. THESE RAINS CONTINUE TO REFORM SOUTH OF THE HOUSTON AREA AND MOVE
TO THE NORTHWEST ACROSS THE SAME LOCATIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED
RAIN. APNY FURTHER RAINFALL MAY LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLOODING. MOTORISTS
SHOULD USE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN DRIVING IN AREAS WITH STANDING WATER.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 2:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXGalveston, Harris66 min
May 16, 4:59 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXHarris4 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 1994Every flash flood warning in 1994

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.