Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Brownsville, TX
NWS Brownsville, TX issued this flash flood warning at May 21, 1997, 7:44 PM CDT for Willacy County, Texas. It was in force for 116 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 21, 1997, 7:44 PM CDT (00:44 UTC)
- Expired
- May 21, 1997, 9:40 PM CDT
- In force
- 116 min
- Issued by
- NWS Brownsville, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Willacy County, TX
The radar
The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:43 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
Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 67 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2446 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 796 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -4 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -14 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBRO 220045 RRA FFWBRO TXC489-220240- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 744 PM CDT WED MAY 21 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE TX HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 940 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHERN TEXAS ...WILLACY COUNTY AT 735 PM CDT...BROWNSVILLE RADAR INDICATED VERY HIGH RAINFALL TOTALS IN WILLACY COUNTY DURING THE PAST THREE HOURS. FROM FOUR TO SIX INCHES OF RAINFALL HAS BEEN DETECTED BY BROWNSVILLE DOPPLER RADAR...IN ADDITION TO PRIOR TOTALS OF NEARLY AS MUCH DURING EARLY AFTERNOON. THIS HEAVY RAINFALL COULD CAUSE DANGEROUS FLASH FLOODS IN PORTIONS OF WILLACY COUNTY TONIGHT. RESIDENTS OF WILLACY COUNTY SHOULD BE ALERT TO THE DANGERS OF HEAVY RAINS. IF ROADWAYS ARE COVERED BY WATER...DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH THIS WATER. LIMIT YOUR TRAVEL THROUGH WILLACY COUNTY THIS EVENING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO AND TELEVISION OR YOUR CABLE OUTLET FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. PHILO A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT. IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RELATIVE TO RIVERS... CREEKS... AND ARROYOS WHICH CAN BECOME KILLEJRS IN HEAVY RAINS. DRY CREEK BEDS AND ARROYOS CAN BECOME RAGING TORRENTS IN A MATTER OF MINUTES IN VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. CAMPERS SHOULD AVOID CAMPING ALONG STREAMS WHEN POTENTIALLY FLOODING RAINFALL THREATENS.
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 May 21, 2:03 PM CDT, 5 hours 41 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 21, 2:03 PM CDT, 5 hours 41 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 200 PM CDT WED MAY 21 1997 BROWNSVILLE DOPPLER RADAR INDCTS SCATTERED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS ALREADY DEVELOPING OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD CONT THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. THIS IS PURELY DIURNAL SINCE THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT TRIGGER AT THIS TIME. THE MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS SHOULD CONT ON THURSDAY...HOWEVER NO TRIGGER THEREFORE WILL JUST GO FOR LOW POPS. THE STATIONARY FRONT TO THE NORTH OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS WILL SLOWLY DRIFT SOUTH AND FINALLY PROVIDE A TRIGGER FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS ON FRIDAY...WILL INCREASE POPS AT THAT TIME. MOISTURE ALSO INCREASES FRIDAY WITH A SOUTHEAST FLOW OF AIR. THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND LOOKS LIKE A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AS THERE IS NO MAJOR WEATHER PATTERN THAT DRIES THE VALLEY OUT FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN NORMAL OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE WEEKEND. .TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE FOR MAINLY EVENING SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS SOUTHEAST 5 TO 10 MPH. .THURSDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE FOR MAINLY AFTERNOON SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS SOUTHEAST 10 TO 15 MPH. .THURSDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS SOUTHEAST 5 TO 10 MPH. .FRIDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS SOUTHEAST 10 TO 15 MPH. .OUTLOOK FOR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND...PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE FOR MAINLY AFTERNOON OR EVENING SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. LOWS IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S WITH HIGHS MOSTLY IN THE 80S. BRO 72/86/72/83 20/20/20/40 MFE 72/87/72/84 20/20/20/40 RGD 69/91/69/87 20/20/20/40 SPI 73/80/73/79 20/20/20/40 55
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 21, 4:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
TXZ248-249-250-251-252-253-254-255-212330- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 433 PM CDT WED MAY 21 1997 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINS FORM OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS... THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO FORM ALONG A STATIONARY FRONT LOCATED OVER NORTHERN PORTIONS OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. THE UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY...ALONG WITH PLENTY OF MOISTURE...WILL ALLOW THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT TO CONTINUE. HEAVY RAINS HAVE ALREADY BEEN RECORDED IN KENEDY AND BROOKS COUNTIES. THREE-HOUR TOTALS FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE COMMON IN THESE AREAS. ALSO...DEVELOPMENT IS BEGINING TO OCCUR TO THE SOUTHWEST OF THESE STORMS...DRIVING RAINS CLOSER TO THE RIO GRANDE RIVER. DUE TO THE UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINS CAN DEVELOP QUICKLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. CONTINUE TO MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO AND TELEVISION OR YOUR LOCAL CABLE OUTLET FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. PHILO
The office that day
Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 7:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Willacy | 59 min |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 1997Every flash flood warning in 1997
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.