Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 64, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

July 6, 1997Polk County, San Jacinto County, Trinity County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Jul 6, 1997, 2:45 PM CDT for Polk County, San Jacinto 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
Jul 6, 1997, 2:45 PM CDT (19:45 UTC)
Expired
Jul 6, 1997, 5:45 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Polk County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX, Trinity County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 150 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:48 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, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 193 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 1997-07-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1995 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 1997-07-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 96 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
1995 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
597 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
96 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
75 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 061946
FFWHOU
TXC455-373-407-062245-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
245 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  545 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...TRINITY COUNTY
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...NORTHERN POLK COUNTY...NORTHERN SAN JACINTO COUNTY
 
AT 241 PM...RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS...SOME
WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...FROM THE NORTH END OF LAKE LIVINGSTON THROUGH
MUCH OF TRINITY COUNTY AND IN POLK COUNTY NORTH OF LIVINGSTON AND WEST
OF HIGHWAY 59. RADAR ESTIMATES OF UP TO 7 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN NEAR
THE LAKE BETWEEN POINT BLANK...ONALASKA...AND SEBASTOPOL. FM 980 AND FM
356 MAY BE FLOODED FROM THIS RAIN.
 
ANOTHER AREA OF HEAVY RAIN WAS LOCATED NORTH OF CORRIGAN TO THE NECHES
RIVER WHERE UP TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN WAS INDICATED.
 
AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE BY 4 PM.
 
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO
NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR UNDERPASSES IF WATER
COVERS THE ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A
SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.

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 Jul 6, 2:22 PM CDT, 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 6, 2:22 PM CDT, 23 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
222 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 1997

INTERSECTING OUTFLOW BNDRYS COUPLED WITH AN UNSTABLE SE TX AIRMASS IS
PRODUCING SCT STRNG TSTMS ACRS MUCH OF FA THIS AFTN...MAINLY OVR ERN
SECTIONS.  ACTIVITY CUD CONT THRU EVNG HRS AS S/W RIDES ACRS MAINLY
NORTH TEXAS & AREA WNDS DECOUPLE...ALLOWING A WARM INVERSION & LLJ TO
FEED NOCTURNAL CONVECTION.  BELIEVE MAIN PUNCH OF S/W WILL BE FAR
ENOUGH N & NE TO PULL ITS INFLUENCE OUT OF FA BY ARND MIDNGT TNGT.
HOWEVER...TSTM ACTIVITY HERE WILL BE MAINLY MESO DRIVEN AND WILL
WARRANT KEEPING CHC POPS IN THRU TNGT.  WILL GO WITH PSBL LCLY HVY
RAIN AND SVR FOR THE CNTRL AND NRN ZONES THRU MIDNGT...SO WORD MAINLY
FOR THREAT TO DIMINISH BY ARND MDNGT.  MAINLY OUTFLOW BNDRYS FM TNGTS
TSTMS AND SEA BREEZE WILL BE FOCUS FOR AFTN/EVNG TSTMS ON MON.  WITH
SLGT RIDGING NOTED AT 5H BEHIND DEPARTING S/W...WILL LWR POPS TO SLGT
CHC ON MON.  MDLS SHOW A STRNG POOL OF THTE AND CAPE VALUES OVR CNTRL
TX LATE MON AFTN AND ANY DVLPMNT THERE WILL PUSH OUTFLOWS THIS WAY
INTO MON EVNG.  WILL KEEP SLGT CHC POPS IN MON EVNG JUST IN CASE.
WEAK UPR SHEER AXIS RMNS PARKED OVR FA ON TUES WITH MDLS SHOWING WEAK
S/WS RIDING ARND UPR RIDGE TO WEST.  HOWEVER...20H CONTS TO SHOW
RIDGING OVRHD WHILE MAIN S/W DIGS ACRS N MEX/W TX.  BELIEVE ACTIVITY
WILL BE SLOW MVG EWD AND...FOR NOW...  WILL ONLY GO SLGT CHC POPS ON
TUES BUT EXPECT INCREASING MID-HIGH CLDS FM WEST.  THIS WILL WARRANT
SLGTLY LWR DAYTIME TMPS ON TUES.

39 PRELIMS...
(PSBLY SVR & LCLY HVY RAIN THRU MIDNGT TNGT NRN-CNTRL ZONES ONLY)

CLL E/B A/B>E   074/094/074/092  4322
IAH E/B A/B>E   074/094/074/092  4322
GLS B/B B/B>E   079/090/080/089  3322

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 6, 2:09 PM CDT, 36 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-070500-

HEAVY RAINFALL AND SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
209 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 1997

THERE EXISTS A THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
FOR MUCH OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THROUGH MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.

AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE...AFTERNOON HEATING AND OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES
FROM STORMS TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH ARE COMING TOGETHER OVER SOUTHEAST
TEXAS TO PRODUCE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER MUCH OF THE AREA.  THE
STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE FOCUSED MAINLY NORTH AND EAST
OF A COLUMBUS TO HOUSTON TO LIBERTY LINE WHERE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES
WILL COLLIDE.  THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL CONTINUE TO ENHANCE
DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS BEFORE MOVING OFF TO THE EAST
SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT.  THE PRIMARY THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...AND THIS THREAT IS EXPECTED TO
DIMINISH AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.

ADDITIONALLY...WEAK WINDS IN THE LOW AND MID LEVELS WILL PRODUCE SLOW
MOVING STORMS AND COUPLED WITH A MOIST ATMOSPHERE...WILL BRING A
THREAT OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.  RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL
AVERAGE AROUND 1/2 INCH WITH ISOLATED TOTALS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES
POSSIBLE IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

RESIDENTS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THEIR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR
LOCAL NEWS MEDIAS FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION.

EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD BE READY FOR POSSIBLE
ACTIVATION THROUGH THIS EVENING.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 6, 2:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBrazos57 min
Jul 6, 12:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris57 min
Jul 6, 1:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXLiberty62 min
Jul 6, 1:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXSan Jacinto, Trinity60 min
Jul 6, 5:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMontgomery42 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.