Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 43, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at May 15, 1997, 6:51 PM CDT for Houston County, Trinity 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 15, 1997, 6:51 PM CDT (23:51 UTC)
- Expired
- May 15, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Houston County, TX, Trinity County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 193 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:51 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
Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 202 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
- 2307 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 70 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 191 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHOU 152352 FFWHOU TXC225-455-160300- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 651 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTHEAST TEXAS ...HOUSTON COUNTY...TRINITY COUNTY STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER HOUSTON AND TRINITY COUNTIES HAVE BEEN PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL DURING THE PAST ONE TO TWO HOURS. RADAR ESTIMATES OF UP TO THREE INCHES OF RAINFALL WERE INDICATED NEAR CROCKETT. RAINFALL RATES OF TWO TO THREE INCHES AN HOUR CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS ESPECIALLY BETWEEN PINEY AND CANEY CREEKS. SHERIFF DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL IN TRINITY COUNTY REPORTED 2 TO 4 INCHES OF WATER ON TOP OF HIGHWAY 94...ABOUT 8 TO 10 MILES EAST OF GROVETON. THIS IS A DANGEROUS FLOOD SITUATION. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR UNDERPASSES. 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 Houston/Galveston, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at May 15, 2:26 PM CDT, 4 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 15, 2:26 PM CDT, 4 hours 25 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 225 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997 RAMSDIS 4KM VSBY LOOP SHOWS MCV NR SJT. MEANWHILE...ENHANCED VV TO THE E OF MCV AND LWR LVL OUTFLOW FIRING OFF SCT CONVECTION BETWN CLL AND VCT EWD. CAPES RUNNING NR 2000 JOULES/KG. ADAP SMC RIGHT WHERE CONVECTION IS...W/SFC DEWPOINTS NR 70. ETA SHOWS MID LVL VORTEX MOVG SLWLY EWD TO SE TX AND THEN SAGGING SEWD BY SATURDAY MRNG. SFC HI PRES TO THE N WL MOVE SEWD TO NRN LA/MS BRINGING ELY FLOW OVR OUR RGN...AND SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR FILTERING INTO AREA LATE FRI NIGHT TO SATURDAY. 805 MB THETA-E RIDGE STAYING GENLY TO N AND W OF FA. FAR ERN ZNS SHOULD REMAIN DRIER THAN REST OF FA...AND LESS POPS THERE. BEST CHANCES OF PCPN PROBABLY TONITE AND FRI TAPERING OFF LATER FRI NITE. UPPER LVL (300 MB) WNDS THROUGH 48 HOURS NOT CONDUCIVE TO STRONG CONVECTION W/CONFLUENT FLOW OVR RGN. IT APPEARS THAT UPPER LVL LOW (NRN PTNS) WL GET SHEARED AND SHUNTED SWD IN TIME (BY FRI NITE). ETA HAS BETTER HANDLE ON THIS SCENARIO THAN NGM. ON CWF...(FOR UPPR TX COAST) RECOMMEND FOR TONITE AROUND 10 KTS WNDS W/SEAS 3 FT OR LESS. 1ST THOUGHTS...#37 PRELIMS: CLL E/E B/B 68/82 64/87 3/3 2/2 IAH E/E B/B 69/81 65/86 4/4 3/2 GLS E/E E/B 74/79 72/82 4/5 4/2
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 3:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Wharton | 64 min |
| May 15, 3:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 56 min |
| May 15, 3:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Harris | 55 min |
| May 15, 4:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | San Jacinto | 61 min |
| May 15, 5:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Houston | 67 min |
| May 15, 5:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Walker | 60 min |
| May 15, 5:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Polk | 56 min |
| May 15, 6:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Houston | 69 min |
| May 15, 6:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Grimes | 63 min |
| May 15, 6:18 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Trinity | 57 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.