Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 101, NWS Corpus Christi, TX

October 13, 1997San Patricio County, Texas

NWS Corpus Christi, TX issued this flash flood warning at Oct 13, 1997, 4:15 AM CDT for San Patricio 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
Oct 13, 1997, 4:15 AM CDT (09:15 UTC)
Expired
Oct 13, 1997, 7:15 AM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Corpus Christi, TX
Area
Whole counties

County San Patricio County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:16 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, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 36 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 1997-10-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1346 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 1997-10-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 113 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
1346 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
699 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
113 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
219 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
7.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCRP 130917
FFWCRP
TXC131-273-355-409-131215-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
415 AM CDT MON OCT 13 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CORPUS CHRISTI HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...DUVAL COUNTY...KLEBERG COUNTY...NUECES COUNTY
   ...SAN PATRICIO COUNTY
 
AT 415 AM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LARGE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS
PRODUCTION TORRENTIAL RAINFALL FROM KINGSVILLE IN KLEBERG COUNTY
AND SOUTHERN DUVAL COUNTY...ACROSS MUCH OF NUECES AND SAN PATRICIO
COUNTIES. STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AND NORTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH.
PERSONS IN THE WARNED AREAS CAN EXPECT 2 TO 4 INCHES THROUGH 7 AM CDT.
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDON^ED QUICKLY.  MOVE 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 Corpus Christi, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Oct 13, 1:28 AM CDT, 2 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 13, 1:28 AM CDT, 2 hours 47 minutes before
COASTAL BEND FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
125 AM CDT MON OCT 13 1997

SHRA/TSRA DVLPG ALG FNTL BNDRY FROM EGP-UVALDE WITH SOME SVR ALG TAIL
END.  STG WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY THREAT WHICH COULD BLOW WEAKLY ROOTED
TREES IN VERY MOIST SOILS.  COULD ALSO BE AN ISOLATED SUPERCELL IN
STRONGER SHEAR ENVIRONMENT ACROSS NERN ZONES AHEAD OF THE FNT.  WILL
MONITOR THIS SYSTEM CLOSELY.  TROPICAL SHOWERS ALSO DVLPG ACROSS
COASTAL PLAINS IN WAA REGION DROPPING VERY HVY RAINS 1-2 INCH PER
HOUR WHERE FFW'S ARE CURRENTLY IN EFFECT.  ITS GOING TO BE A BUSY
NIGHT.

WILL KEEP FFA UP FOR THIS AM UNTIL FNT PUSHES THROUGH WITH DECREASING
CLOUDINESS AND WINDY CONDITIONS THERE AFTER.  A WIND ADVISORY WILL BE
NEEDED FOR THE COASTAL BEND AND VCT AREA.  N WINDS 20-30 MPH AND
GUSTY CRP & VCT. N WINDS 15-25 MPH AND GUSTY LRD.  LATEST ETA
MAINTAINS STG 30-35KT WINDS IN THE COASTAL WATERS THROUGH TNGT...AND
GALE WARNINGS MAY BE NEEDED.

HIGH TEMPS WILL BE REALIZED DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS TDY BEFORE
FROPA.  CLEAR SKIES AND MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES WILL SETTLE TNGT AND
TUE AS RIDGE BUILDS SWD INTO W TX.  THE ETA DROPS DWPTS INTO THE
LOWER 40S BY TUE AM.  LOWS COULD PLUMET TO AVN VALUES OVER INLAND
AREAS OF THE COASTAL PLAINS IF WINDS DROP OFF DURING THE OVERNIGHT
HOURS.  WARMER TEMPS EXPECTED ALG COASTAL COUNTIES.

/CRP AND VCT/
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THIS AM...
...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT...
.TDY...CLOUDY WITH 60% CHC OF TSRA THIS MORNING WITH LCLY HVY RAIN
AND FLOODING POSSIBLE.  DECREASING CLOUDS WITH RAIN ENDING BY NOON.
BECOMING WINDY AND COOL.  N WINDS 20-30 MPH AND GUSTY.

/LRD/
.TDY...M/C WITH 20% CHC OF SHOWERS THIS MORNING...DECREASING CLOUD
WITH RAIN ENDING.  BECMG WINDY AND COOL.  N WINDS 15-25 MPH AND
GUSTY.

PRELIMS...

CRP NU 076/056 071/052 6000
NGP NU 079/060 073/056
VCT NU 075/050 068/048 6000
LRD NU 078/054 073/052 2000

JM...075

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 13, 1:10 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPBee, Goliad, Live Oak4 hr
Oct 13, 2:00 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPRefugio, Victoria4 hr
Oct 13, 3:28 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPJim Wells3 hr
Oct 13, 3:56 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPCalhoun3 hr
Oct 13, 4:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPRefugio55 min
Oct 13, 4:15 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPDuval3 hr
Oct 13, 4:15 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPKleberg, Nueces3 hr
Oct 13, 5:33 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPAransas3 hr
Oct 13, 7:50 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPNueces100 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.