Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 44, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at May 21, 1997, 9:33 PM CDT for Austin County, Harris County, Waller County, Texas. It was in force for 117 min. 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, 9:33 PM CDT (02:33 UTC)
- Expired
- May 21, 1997, 11:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 117 min
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Austin County, TX, Harris County, TX, Waller County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:35 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 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 260 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
- 1896 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -6 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 745 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 56 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 71 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHOU 220232 FFWHOU TXC015-201-473-220430- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 933 PM CDT WED MAY 21 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1130 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS ...AUSTIN COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...WESTERN HARRIS COUNTY...WALLER COUNTY AT 928 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM SOUTH AUSTIN COUNTY TO SOUTHERN WALLER COUNTY TO KATY TO BELLAIRE. THIS AREA OF PRECIPIATION IS MOVING NORTH AT 10 MPH. AUSTIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT REPORTED 3 FEET OF WATER ON THE ROAD AT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 36 AND HIGHWAY 90 IN SEALY. RADAR ESTIMATES OF 6 TO 8 INCHES AND CONFIRMED REPORTS OF OVER 4 AND 1/2 INCHES HAVE REPORTED IN SOUTHWESTERN HARRS COUNTY. THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY HAS REPORTED STREET FLOODING IN SEALY. AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF F*LASH 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 21, 7:42 PM CDT, 1 hour 51 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 21, 7:42 PM CDT, 1 hour 51 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 740 PM CDT WED MAY 21 1997 00Z CRP SOUNDING SHOWS DRY SPIKE ABOVE 790 MB. NOT SURPRISING THAT MESOCYCLONE DEVELOPED OVR COLORADO COUNTY. >50 DBZ EXTENDS TO NR 40 KFT FM THIS STORM BESIDES STRONG ROTATION. OTHERWISE...NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED FM PREV FCST DISCUSSION...HI PWS... RIGHT READ QUAD OF UPPER LVL JET OVR RGN TONITE...SFC CONFLUENT FLOW...HI LIS. COLLIDING BOUN.DARIES FM PRESENT CONVECTION MAY BE ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN CONVECTION FOR SEVERAL HOURS...DESPITE WEAKENING CAPES AS NIGHT PROGRESSES. NO CHANGE TO PREV FCST PACKAGE EXCEPT FOR CLL AREA 1ST PD POPS. RECOMMEND 30 PERCENT. #37
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 7:09 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Colorado | 66 min |
| May 21, 7:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Wharton | 62 min |
| May 21, 8:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Austin | 50 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.