Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 42, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at May 9, 1997, 6:28 PM CDT for Matagorda 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
- May 9, 1997, 6:28 PM CDT (23:28 UTC)
- Expired
- May 9, 1997, 9:25 PM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Matagorda County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:28 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 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 176 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
- 1825 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 476 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 92 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 119 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.5
- Supercell composite
- 3.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHOU 092324 FFWHOU TXC321-100225- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 628 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 925 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...MATAGORDA COUNTY A FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN REISSUED FOR MATAGORDA COUNTY UNTIL 930 PM. VERY HEAVY RAIN CONTINUES OVER MUCH OF THE COUNTY AND AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN WILL FALL IN THE NEXT TWO HOURS. DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATED RAINFALL HAS EXCEEDED 8 INCHES IN THE MIDFIELD AREA AND 4 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN HAS BEEN REPORTED IN THE BAY CITY AREA. RESIDENTS NEAR WALLACE CREEK...CARACAHYA CREEK...WILLOW CREEK AND THE TRES PALACIOS RIVER SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR RAPIDLY RISING WATER TONIGHT. THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR JACKSON COUNTY EXPIRED AT 600 PM. HEAVY RAIN HAS MOVED OUT OF JACKSON COUNTY AND FLOODING WAS NO LONGER REPORTED. BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF FLASH FLOODING. IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY. 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 May 9, 2:46 PM CDT, 3 hours 42 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 9, 2:46 PM CDT, 3 hours 42 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 245 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 1997 RADAR AND ANALYSIS SHOW CF SOUTH OF A SAT TO IAH LN AND SLWLY PUSHING SSE. MAIN THREAT LOOKS TO BE HVY RAIN OVER JACKSON...WHARTON... MATAGORDA AND BRAZORIA COUNTIES WHERE BEST INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE ARE CONVERGING WITH THE SLOW MVG CF. NRN ZONES ARE MAINLY OUT OF THE WOODS FOR TNGT...BUT WILL HAVE TO KEEP CHC POPS IN ACRS CNTRL AND COAST AS SPD OF FNT IS UNCERTAIN ATTM. ETA AND AVN ARE IN FAIR AGREEMENT WITH PUSHING CF JUST OFF UPR TX COAST TNGT. HOWEVER...SFC RIDGE QUICKLY TREKS EWD...PRODUCING ERLY WNDS ACRS FA BY SAT AFTN. THIS WILL NOT ALLOW FNT TO PUSH VERY FAR OFF SHORE AND WILL KEEP TAIL-END OF FNT BACK ACRS S-SW TX...WHERE CLDS AND MOISTURE AXIS WILL RMN. WITH FNT RMNG NEAR COAST TNGT AND LOW-MID CLDS AND -R SLOW TO END BEHIND FNT...WILL KEEP CLDS IN THRU AT LEAST 17-18Z SAT...THEN SCT NRN-CNTRL ZONES OUT SAT AFTN. FAIR SKIES ON TAP FOR SAT NGT INLAND AREAS...THEN MID-HI CLDS INCREASE FM WEST AS NXT UPR LVL SYSTEM GETS CUT OFF OVR BAJA...SENDING PAC MOISTURE & MID-HI CLDS OUR WAY LATE SUN-MON. MAINLY JUST EXPECTING CLDS ATTM...AS DONT SEE ENOUGH DEEP RH OR WEAK DISTURBANCES RIDING OVR UPR RIDGE TO WARRANT OVRRNG RAINS ACRS FA THRU THIS FCST PERIOD. GULF OPENS UP SUN AFTN-MON...PUSHING FNT SLWLY BACK NWRD...ALLOWING FOR A QUICK WARMUP/MOIST RTRN ON MON AS CUT OFF LOW OVR BAJA GETS MORE ORGANIZED AND RIDGE OVRHD FLATTENS OUT. MIX BETWEEN COOLER AVN AND WARMER NGM #'S. PRELIMS NXT. 39 CLL R-C/E-B A/B-E 56/76 55/79 2000 -R ENDG BY MDNGT IAH T-R/E-B A/B-E 60/78 55/80 4100 T ENDG EARLY BCMG -R BY MDNGT GLS T-R/E B/B-E 65/75 67/77 6200 T TNGT BCMG -R AFTR MDNGT
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2:57 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Jackson | 3 hr |
| May 9, 3:57 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Matagorda | 3 hr |
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.