Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Brownsville, TX

August 13, 1996Zapata County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this flash flood warning at Aug 13, 1996, 9:39 PM CDT for Zapata County, Texas. It was in force for 6 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 13, 1996, 9:39 PM CDT (02:39 UTC)
Expired
Aug 14, 1996, 3:45 AM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Zapata County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 198 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1996-08-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2117 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1996-08-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 36 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
2117 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-88 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1292 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBRO 140240
FFWBRO
TXC505-140845-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
939 PM CDT TUE AUG 13 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  345 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS......
 
IN SOUTH TEXAS
 
   ...SOUTHERN ZAPATA COUNTY
 
AT 930 PM ALTHOUGH RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER PORTIONS OF ZAPATA
AND STARR COUNTIES MAY HAVE BEEN DECREASING SOME IN INTENSITY..RADAR
ALSO INDICATED THAT AROUND 7 INCHES OF RAIN POUNDED SOUTH ZAPATA COUNTY
NORTHEAST OF FALCON LAKE DURING A SEVERAL HOUR PERIOD. SHERIFF THERE
EARLIER THIS EVENING SAID HIGHWAY 2687 WAS STARTING TO FLOOD. THE TORREN
ARAIN WILL KEEP THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING HIGH TONIGHT.
 
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.
 
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.

NWS Brownsville, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Aug 13, 8:42 PM CDT, 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 8:42 PM CDT, 57 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS WEATHER FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
840 PM CDT TUE AUG 13 1996

STORMS IN PROGRESS OVER THE WESTERN ZONES.  ACTIVITY OVER NORTHERN
MEXICO HAS MERGED WITH ACTIVITY MOVING FROM THE NORTH PRIMARILY
OVER ZAPATA COUNTY.  HAIL...HIGH WIND...AND HEAVY RAIN HAVE BEEN
REPORTED.  GOOD DIFFLUENCE OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN TEXAS EVIDENT
ON 500 MB PLOT FROM THIS EVENING.  ACTIVITY WILL LIKELY CONTINUE
THIS EVENING OVER JIM HOGG..STARR..AND ZAPATA COUNTIES.  WILL
INCREASE CHANCES OF RAIN OUT WEST FOR THOSE THREE COUNTIES TO 30
PERCENT THROUGH TONIGHT.  ACTIVITY SHOULD DECREASE LIKE THE LAST
COUPLE OF NIGHTS SHORTLY AFTER 10 PM OR SO. BUT WITH GOOD DYNAMICS
ALOFT AM NOT SO SURE OF THIS.  WILL KEEP POPS IN FOR ALL ZONES
THROUGH THE NIGHT.

BRO  78/96/78/96    20/05/00/05
MFE  77/99/78/100   20/05/00/05
RGC  74/104/77/104  30/00/00/00
SPI  80/89/79/89    20/00/00/00

67

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 13, 6:13 PM CDT, 3 hours 26 minutes before
TXZ248-140020-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
613 PM CDT TUE AUG 13 1996

AT 615 PM RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS NEAR SAN YGNACIO IN ZAPATA
COUNTY CAPABLE OF CAUSING STRONG WIND. THE STORMS WERE MOVING SLOWLY
SOUTHWEST. KEEP CLOSE TABS OF THEM. IF SEVERE WEATHER OCCURS, PLEASE
ASK THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 13, 7:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROZapata57 min
Aug 13, 8:26 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBROStarr, Zapata64 min
Aug 13, 8:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr, Zapata64 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 1996Every flash flood warning in 1996

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.