Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

June 26, 1996Colorado County, Jackson County, Wharton County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Jun 26, 1996, 4:30 AM CDT for Colorado County, Jackson County, Wharton County, Texas. It was in force for 3 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
Jun 26, 1996, 4:30 AM CDT (09:30 UTC)
Expired
Jun 26, 1996, 7:30 AM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Colorado County, TX, Jackson County, TX, Wharton County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 134 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:34 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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 194 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 1996-06-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1738 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1996-06-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -12 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
1738 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
640 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
47 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 260932
FFWHOU
TXC089-481-239-261230-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON TX
430 AM CDT WED JUN 26 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...COLORADO COUNTY...WESTERN WHARTON COUNTY
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...EASTERN JACKSON COUNTY
 
AT 425 AM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED THAT THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING
RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR WERE BETWEEN EL CAMPO...
COLUMBUS...AND EDNA.  RAINFALL OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS HAS LEFT THE
GROUND SATURATED...AND FLASH FLOODING OF LOW-LYING AREAS ARE IMMIMENT
AS THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER THESE AREAS.
 
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 T,O FLOODING WHEN WATER
BEGINS RISING.

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 Jun 26, 2:38 AM CDT, 1 hour 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 26, 2:38 AM CDT, 1 hour 52 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
238 AM CDT WED JUN 26 1996

BOTH THE ETA AND NGM ARE CONSITENT IN KEEPING GOOD LYR RH VALUES (>70
PERCENT) OVR SETX THRU THE AM HRS IN THE 1ST PD.  THEN AS THE RDG
BLDS IN OVR THE CST THE BEST SYNOPTIC LIFT AND MOISTURE AREAS MOV
INLAND AND AWAY FM THE CST.  LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER ROUND OF RW/TRW IN
STORE FOR THE CST THIS AM.  THEN THRU THE AFT TSTMS AND SHOWERS SHUD
PUSH INLAND AS PER THE 94Q FCST.  THE 98Q MAY BE JUST A BIT OVERDONE
FOR THE FCST AREA...BUT WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF MOISTURE STREAMING IN
OVR SETX CANNOT RULE OUT ALL PRECIP EVEN WITH THE FCST SUBSIDENCE.
THUS CHC POPS ARE IN ORDER PAST THE 2ND PD.  WL HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE
ON THE RAINFALL...ESPCIALLY EARLY TODAY ALONG THE COASTAL COUNTIES.
ALTHO THE FLOOD AND FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED ALONG THE
CST...THIS MAY BE OF SOME CONCERN EARLY.  TEMPS SHUD BE BLO THE FWC
OVR THE WELL INLAND SXNS BECAUSE OF THE INCREASED CLD COVER AND RAIN
EXPECTED THERE.  ...40...
PRELIMS...  CLL 89/76  6/2    IAH 88/74  4/2    GLS 85/78  4/2

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 26, 4:08 AM CDT, 22 minutes before
TXZ176-195>198-210>212-226-227-235>237-511-513-271800-

HEAVY RAINFALL OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
408 AM CDT WED JUN 26 1996

THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY RAIN EXISTS ACROSS A PORTION OF SOUTHEAST
TEXAS TODAY...MAINLY WEST OF A LINE FROM FREEPORT TO RICHMOND TO
MADISONVILLE.  CITIES AND COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE OUTLOOK AREA
ARE BRYAN/COLLEGE STATION...BRENHAM...COLUMBUS...WHARTON...AND BAY
CITY.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A DEEP TROPICAL LAYER OF
MOISTURE ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN IN PLACE OVER THE WESTERN PORTION OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS THROUGHOUT THE DAY.  RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF NEAR 1
INCH PER HOUR WILL BE COMMON WITH SOME OF THE HEAVIER SHOWERS.  SOME
AREAS MAY RECEIVE IN EXCESS OF 3 INCHES BY THIS AFTERNOON.  WITH THE
SATURATED GROUND FROM THE HEAVY RAINFALL OF THE PAST FEW DAYS...FLASH
FLOODING IS A POSSIBILITY AND THE SITUATION SHOULD BE MONITORED
CLOSELY.

PONDING OF WATER MAY OCCUR ON ROADWAYS...ESPECIALLY IN LOW-LYING
AREAS SUCH AS UNDERPASSES.  MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO USE EXTREME
CAUTION WHEN DRIVING THROUGH SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY.  DO NOT
DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.
THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR VEHICLE TO CROSS
SAFELY.

MARINE INTERESTS ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST NEAR MATAGORDA BAY
SHOULD ANTICIPATE SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS REDUCING THE VISIBILITY TO
BELOW 1 MILE.  STRONG GUSTY WINDS CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED IN THE
STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS AND STORM SPOTTERS ARE URGED TO KEEP
UPDATED ON THE WEATHER SITUATION THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND REMAIN ALERT
IF ACTIVATION BECOMES NECESSARY.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES OR STATEMENTS.

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.