Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1995

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

January 18, 1995Polk County, San Jacinto County, Trinity County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Jan 18, 1995, 7:03 AM CST for Polk County, San Jacinto County, Trinity County, Texas. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jan 18, 1995, 7:03 AM CST (13:03 UTC)
Expired
Jan 18, 1995, 10:00 AM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Polk County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX, Trinity County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Longview/Gregg, TX (KGGG), launched 12:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 175 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, Longview/Gregg, TX at 12:00Z on 1995-01-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Longview/Gregg, TX at 12:00Z on 1995-01-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 373 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
521 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
75 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
373 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
550 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 181306
FFWHOU
TXC455-373-407-181600-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
703 AM CST WED JAN 18 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...TRINITY COUNTY
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...POLK COUNTY...AND NORTHERN SAN JACINTO COUNTY
 
WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IS INDICATING VERY HEAVY RAIN OCCURRING FROM
MONTGOMERRY COUNTY ACROSS NORTHERN SAN JACINTO NORTHERN POLK AND TRINITY
COUNTIES. UP TO THREE INCHES OF RAIN DURING THE PAST HOUR WAS INDICATED
IN NEAR THE TOWN OF WILLIS. THESE HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE MOVING
NORTHEAST OVER THE SAME AREAS THIS MORNING PRODUCING FLASH FLOOD
PRODUCING RAINFALL.
 
STREET FLOODING HAS BEEN REPORTED IN THE TOWN OF TRINITY. THIS FLOODING
WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD AS HEAVY RAINS CONTINUE. TRAVEL IN THESE
COUNTIES SHOULD BE AVOIDED IF AT ALL POSSIBLE THIS MORNING.
 
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO
NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR UNDERPASSES IF WATER
COVERS THE ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A
SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.

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 Jan 18, 3:01 AM CST, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 3:01 AM CST, 4 hours 2 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
3 AM CST WED JAN 18 1995

ALL MODELS ARE IN GENERALL AGREEMENT IN PUSHING  COLD FRONT THRU SOUTHEAST
TEXAS TODAY. WITH STG LOW LVL JET...AMPLE MOISTURE AND INCREASING INSTABILITY
THE CHANCE OF SVR TSTMS WILL PRECEDE THE ACTUAL CDFNT. FFG LESS THAN 2 INCHES
OVER ALL BUT CSTL ZNES SO WILL CONT FFW FOR THIS MRNG AS ADDITIONAL 1-2 INCHES
PSBL WITH ISOLATED AMTS NR 3 INCHES. AFT CDFNT PUSHES THRU WINDS WILL INCR
FROM WEST TO NORTHWEST AND TEMPS WILL BEGIN TO FALL. MAXIMUMS WILL BE THIS
MRNG FALLING INTO THE UPPER 40S AND LOWER 50S OVER MOST OF AREA BY LATE AFTN.
EXPECT CLEARING SKIES OVER MOST REGIONS TNGT XCP FOR NE WHERE SOME RAP AROUND
CLDS MIGHT PERSIST FOR A LTL LONGER. NGM TEMPS SEEM A LTL WARM FOR TNGT AND
THU SO LEANED TOWARD AVN TEMPS. POPS LOOKS GOOD.

PRELIMINARIES...

IAH TU 070/039 061/036 065 34700
...FFW ALL BUT CST THIS MRNG
...CAUTION ON AREA LAKES AFTN

34

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 18, 3:52 AM CST, 3 hours 11 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-511-513-181555-

SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAIN OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
352 AM CST WED JAN 18 1995

THERE IS A SLIGHT TO MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER
SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS MORNING. THERE IS ALSO A RISK OF HEAVY RAIN OVER
REGION THIS MORNING ALSO.

A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE IN COMBINATION WITH A SLOW MOVING COLD
FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS MORNING. A SURFACE LOW IS
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN SOUTH TEXAS AND MOVE RAPIDLY NORTHEAST. THIS
SURFACE LOW WILL INCREASE LOW LEVEL WINDS FROM THE SOUTH THUS
INCREASING THE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY OVER THE REGION. THE MAIN
THREAT AT THIS TIME APPEARS TO BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE
HAIL...HOWEVER A FEW TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE EAST OF THE SURFACE LOW AS
STRONG WIND SHEAR WILL LEAD TO SUPERCELL DEVELOPMENT.

IN ADDITION TO THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FLOOD AND FLASH
FLOOD PRODUCING RAINFALL IS EXPECTED OVER ALL BUT THE COASTAL COUNTIES.
THE GROUND IS SATURATED FROM PREVIOUS RAINS AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE
TO TWO INCHES WILL PRODUCE FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS AND LOW WATER
CROSSINGS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES IS EXPECTED THIS
MORNING WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS NEAR THREE INCHES.

EMERGENCY MANAGERS ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS ARE URGED TO CHECK
THEIR PREPAREDNESS PLANS AND STAFFING LEVELS FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF
SEVERE WEATHER AND FLASH FLOODING THIS MORNING. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY
ALSO BE NECESSARY FOR THIS DEVELOPING EVENT.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION
FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS SEVERE WEATHER
SITUATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 17, 11:20 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXTrinity115 min
Jan 18, 7:07 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazos, Grimes53 min
Jan 18, 8:55 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXMontgomery2 hr
Jan 18, 9:05 AM CSTTornado WarningHGXLiberty40 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 1995Every flash flood warning in 1995

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.