Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 26, NWS Corpus Christi, TX

May 21, 1997Kleberg County, Texas

NWS Corpus Christi, TX issued this flash flood warning at May 21, 1997, 3:10 PM CDT for Kleberg County, Texas. It was in force for 4 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
May 21, 1997, 3:10 PM CDT (20:10 UTC)
Expired
May 21, 1997, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Corpus Christi, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Kleberg County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 172 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 919 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 26 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
919 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-135 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1001 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
80 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCRP 212014
FFWCRP
TXC273-220015-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
310 PM CDT WED MAY 21 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CORPUS CHRISTI HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 700 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY......
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...KLEBERG COUNTY
 
AT 310 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN IN KLEBERG
COUNTY.  THIS ACTIVITY HAS BEEN MOVING VERY SLOWLY TO THE
NORTH.
 
OVER 2 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN AT THE KINGSVILLE NAVAL AIR
STATION DURING THE PAST HOUR...AND DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES
UP TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN JUST SOUTHWEST OF RICARDO DURING THE
PAST TWO HOURS.
 
BECAUSE OF THE SLOW MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS...UP TO 2 MORE
INCHES IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
 
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 Corpus Christi, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at May 21, 2:38 PM CDT, 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 2:38 PM CDT, 32 minutes before
COASTAL BEND FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
230 PM CDT WED MAY 21 1997

UPPER LVL VORT MAX EXITING SE TX INTO LA WITH 12Z MODELS SHOWING NVA
OVER OUR REGION THIS AFTN.  WV LOOP DEPICTS NEXT S/W ALG RIO GRANDE
MOVG EAST.  LONG WAVE TROF OVER MEXICO WILL REMAIN IN PLACE NEXT
48HRS WHILE EJECTING S/W'S OVER S TX SUSTAINING OUR CHANCES OF RAIN
INTO THE WEEKEND.

QUASI-STATIONARY BNDRY LOCATE ALG AND JUST OFF THE TX COAST WILL ACT
AS A WEAK FOCUS FOR CONVECTION TONIGHT AND THURSDAY AS NGM SHIFTS OUR
WINDS SE TOO SOON.  ALL MODELS DEVELOP PRECIP ALG AND NORTH OF THIS
BNDRY WHERE PWS POOL TO 1.60 TO 1.80 INCHES.  88D STP ALREADY PICKING
UP 3.00 INCHES OF RAIN OVER KENEDY CTY AND THE PRECIP IS MOVG SLOWLY
NWD.  PRECIP SHOULD BE ENHANCED BY APCHG S/W THIS EVENING WITH
LOCALLY HVY RAINFALL FROM CRP-VCT.  WILL INCREASE POPS TO 50 PERCENT
RANGE THIS EVENING AS AREAL COVERAGE IS FILLING IN.  NO CONVECTION
FIRING OVER MX MTNS YET THIS AFTN.

FNT WILL DRIFT NWD THURS AND FOCUS RAINS OVER THE NRN CNTYS WHEN NEXT
PIECE OF ENERGY MOVES IN FROM MX.  SUBTROP JET NOTED ON WV LOOP
CROSSING CNTRL MX ATTM.  WINDS NR THE COAST SHOULD SHIFT E-SE NR 15
MPH ON THURS AS SEA BREEZE DEVELOPS.  TEMPS WILL SLOWLY MODIFY INTO
THE WEEKEND...BUT NOT TOO MUCH.

TEMPS/POPS...

CRP EE 071/083 071/085  5423
NGP EE 072/081 072/083
VCT EE 069/081 070/084  5423
LRD EE 072/084 072/086  4323

JM...075 PUBLIC / SG...83 AVIATION

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 21, 3:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPJim Wells, Kleberg60 min
May 21, 4:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCRPJim Wells59 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.