Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 37, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Apr 25, 1997, 5:48 PM CDT for Waller 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
- Apr 25, 1997, 5:48 PM CDT (22:48 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 25, 1997, 9:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Waller County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 106 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:50 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
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 269 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1388 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 57 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 131 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 472 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 4.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHOU 252250 FFWHOU TXC473-260245- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 548 PM CDT FRI APR 25 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 945 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...WALLER COUNTY AT 550 PM...RADAR INDICATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTAINING VERY HEAVY RAIN FROM SOUTHWEST OF COLUMBUS THROUGH WALLER COUNTY TO HUNTSVILLE. MOVEMENT WAS SLOWLY EAST. THE WALLER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE REPORTED NUMEROUS ROADS FLOODED. 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN HAS BEEN ESTIMATED TO HAVE FALLEN ACROSS WALLER COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON. ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES IS POSSIBLE WITH THE CURRENT ACTIVITY. THESE RAINS WILL LIKELY LEAD TO SOME FLASH FLOODING. BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLYX. MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO 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 Apr 25, 2:22 PM CDT, 3 hours 26 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 25, 2:22 PM CDT, 3 hours 26 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 220 PM CDT FRI APR 25 1997 NOTHING TO BE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT NEXT 48-60H. CUT OFF LOW SETTLING STRAIGHT SOUTH INTO OLD MEXICO THIS AFTERNOON. WARM FRONT NOT LIKELY TO MOVE MUCH FURTHER NORTH THAN OVER OUR COUNTIES. STRONG MERIDIONAL FLOW ACROSS WESTERN GULF AND EASTERN TEXAS WILL PROVIDE FUEL FOR EXCESSIVE RAINFALL AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. MODELS SHOW IMPULSES MOVING ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS EVENING...SATURDAY AND LATE SATURDAY NIGHT. EVEN WITHOUT THIS ADDED FOCUS...STRONG LIFTING OVER EAST-WEST WARM FRONT CONTINUES TO TO PRODUCE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS. SEVERE POTENTIAL EXISTS ALSO...GOLF BALL HAIL ALREADY REPORTED TODAY. SHEAR MAXIMIZED ALONG FRONTAL ZONE WILL GIVE POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES. GIVEN PROLONGED NATURE OF EVENT ALONG WITH ALREADY HIGH RIVER LEVELS AND SOIL MOISTURE...REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT POTENTIAL OF SERIOUS FLOODING. MORNING STORMS PRODUCED 3-5 INCHS NORTHWEST GALVESTON COUNTY. WOULD NOT BE SURPRIZED TO SEE SOME ISOLATED 10 INCH TOTALS BEFORE THIS IS OVER. OBVIOUSLY FLASH FLOOD WATCH UP FOR WHOLE AREA. IF THAT WASNT ENOUGH...PERSISTENT EAST WIND AT 20 TO 30 MPH HAS BROUGHT TIDES TO FLOOD LEVELS ON THE COAST AND IN THE BAYS WARRANTING A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING. MODELS DONT MOVE SYSTEM EAST OF AREA TIL LATE IN THE DAY SUNDAY. PRELIMS... CLL T/T T/T 62/75/65/75 100/80/80/60 IAH T/T T/T 63/75/65/78 100/80/80/70 GLS T/TR T/T 68/75/68/75 100/80/80/70 30
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 25, 2:15 PM CDT, 3 hours 33 minutes before
TXZ177>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-511-513-260115- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 215 PM CDT FRI APR 25 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH EFFECTIVE UNTIL 8 PM FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA: BRAZOS...BURLESON...GRIMES...WALKER... SAN JACINTO...POLK...WASHINGTON...COLORADO...AUSTIN...WALLER... MONTGOMERY...LIBERTY...JACKSON...WHARTON...FORT BEND...HARRIS... MATAGORDA...BRAZORIA...GALVESTON...AND CHAMBERS COUNTIES INCLUDING THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. MILAM COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS IS ALSO INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER APPROACH YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL OR CABLE TV...OR RADIO FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Apr 25, 2:16 PM CDT, 3 hours 32 minutes before
TXZ177>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-511-513-260115- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 215 PM CDT FRI APR 25 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH EFFECTIVE UNTIL 8 PM FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA: BRAZOS...BURLESON...GRIMES...WALKER... SAN JACINTO...POLK...WASHINGTON...COLORADO...AUSTIN...WALLER... MONTGOMERY...LIBERTY...JACKSON...WHARTON...FORT BEND...HARRIS... MATAGORDA...BRAZORIA...GALVESTON...AND CHAMBERS COUNTIES INCLUDING THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. MILAM COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS IS ALSO INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER APPROACH YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL OR CABLE TV...OR RADIO FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 8:24 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Wharton | 66 min |
| Apr 25, 8:47 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Fort Bend | 58 min |
| Apr 25, 9:05 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Austin, Waller | 55 min |
| Apr 25, 9:35 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris | 55 min |
| Apr 25, 9:56 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Waller | 64 min |
| Apr 25, 10:18 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Brazos, Grimes, Washington | 57 min |
| Apr 25, 10:48 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 57 min |
| Apr 25, 11:16 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris | 59 min |
| Apr 25, 11:25 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Walker | 65 min |
| Apr 25, 12:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Chambers, Liberty | 59 min |
| Apr 25, 3:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | San Jacinto | 43 min |
| Apr 25, 3:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Polk, Trinity | 65 min |
| Apr 25, 3:54 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Fort Bend, Harris | 4 hr |
| Apr 25, 3:54 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Galveston | 4 hr |
| Apr 25, 4:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Grimes | 67 min |
| Apr 25, 5:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Polk | 64 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.