Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 45, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

September 19, 1996Williamson County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this flash flood warning at Sep 19, 1996, 11:58 PM CDT for Williamson County, Texas. It was in force for 2 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
Sep 19, 1996, 11:58 PM CDT (04:58 UTC)
Expired
Sep 20, 1996, 2:00 AM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Williamson County, TX

The radar

The Ft Hood radar (KGRK), 22 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:59 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

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 245 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 1996-09-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 670 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 1996-09-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 60 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
670 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1365 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
60 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSAT 200502
FFWSAT
TXC491-200700-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1158 PM CDT THU SEP 19 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL
2 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...WILLIAMSON COUNTY...INCLUDING THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN...
 
AT 1155 PM CDT...NEXRAD DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY.  THE STORM WAS MOVING
TOWARD THE SOUTH AT 15 MPH.
 
RADAR ESTIMATES THAT OVER AN INCH OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN AND
AROUND GEORGETOWN AND ADJACENT AREAS OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY DURING
THE PAST HOUR OR TWO.  SINCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OCCURRED IN
THESE AREAS WEDNESDAY...THE GROUND IS ALREADY SOAKED.  THIS
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL NOT SOAK IN BUT RUN OFF RAPIDLY...
INCREASING THE THREAT FOR FLASH FLOODING.
 
PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD BE ALERT TO THE POSSIBILITY
OF LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.  FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY
HEAVY RAIN CAN ALSO OCCUR WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...FLOODING SMALL
STREAMS...LOW-LYING AREAS AND LOW-WATER CROSSINGS.
 
IF YOU SEE SEVERE WEATHER TAKING PLACE...CALL YOUR REPORT TO
THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR IMMEDIATE RELAY TO THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

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 19, 9:15 PM CDT, 2 hours 43 minutes before
TXZ171>173-190>194-208-200400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
905 PM CDT THU SEP 19 1996

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL TEXAS...
   INCLUDING THE GEORGETOWN AND AUSTIN METROPOLITAN AREAS...

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR CENTRAL TEXAS VALID
UNTIL 1 AM CDT FRIDAY MORNING.

THE WATCH IN WITHIN AN AREA ALONG AND 60 MILES EITHER SIDE OF A
LINE FROM 30 MILES WEST OF AUSTIN TO 55 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST OF
WACO.  THE METROPOLITAN AREAS OF GEORGETOWN AND AUSTIN ARE INCLUDED
IN THE WATCH.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY OCCUR
IN THE AFFECTED AREA.  PERSONS IN LLANO...BURNET...BLANCO...HAYS...
WILLIAMSON...TRAVIS...LEE...BASTROP AND CALDWELL COUNTIES SHOULD
MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER BULLETINS AND FORECASTS AND BE READY
TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF A SEVERE WEATHER WARNING IS ISSUED.

IN ADDITION TO LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND FREQUENT DEADLY
LIGHTNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALSO CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES...
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING.

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR BULLETINS CONCERNING THIS WEATHER SITUATION
WILL BE ISSUED AS CONDITIONS WARRANT...SO PLEASE STAY TUNED TO LOCAL
RADIO...TV OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO STATIONS.
Local storm report, Sep 19, 11:50 PM CDT, 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TEXAS
1145 PM CDT THU SEP 18 1996

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1115 PM    KINGSLAND                 TX   TREE LIMBS AND MAIL BOXES
09/19/96   LLANO                          DOWN DUE TO HIGH WINDS.
                                          LLANO SHERIFF

1122 PM    KINGSLAND                 TX   .75 HAIL
09/19/96   LLANO                          AT KNOB HILL IN KINGSLAND
                                          LLANO SHERIFF

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 19, 9:55 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXWilliamson2 hr
Sep 19, 9:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXWilliamson2 hr
Sep 19, 10:45 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXBurnet2 hr
Sep 19, 10:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBurnet2 hr
Sep 19, 10:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXLlano64 min
Sep 19, 11:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXTravis65 min
Sep 19, 11:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXWilliamson2 hr
Sep 20, 12:24 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXTravis2 hr
Sep 20, 12:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXTravis2 hr
Sep 20, 1:02 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBurnet, Llano58 min
Sep 20, 1:09 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXBastrop2 hr
Sep 20, 1:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBastrop2 hr
Sep 20, 1:26 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXBurnet, Llano2 hr
Sep 20, 1:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBurnet, Llano2 hr
Sep 20, 1:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXCaldwell62 min
Sep 20, 2:26 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXFayette, Gonzales2 hr
Sep 20, 2:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXFayette, Gonzales2 hr
Sep 20, 6:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBurnet60 min
Sep 20, 6:53 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXBurnet67 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.