Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 72, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

October 13, 1997Burleson County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Oct 13, 1997, 2:56 AM CDT for Burleson 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
Oct 13, 1997, 2:56 AM CDT (07:56 UTC)
Expired
Oct 13, 1997, 6:00 AM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Burleson County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 268 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 1997-10-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1018 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 1997-10-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 310 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1018 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
499 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
310 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
354 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.9
Supercell composite
10.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 130758
FFWHOU
TXC015-089-041-051-185-239-313-477-131100-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
256 AM CDT MON OCT 13 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...AUSTIN COUNTY...COLORADO COUNTY
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...BRAZOS COUNTY...BURLESON COUNTY...GRIMES COUNTY
   ...JACKSON COUNTY...MADISON COUNTY...WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
AT 256 AM...RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN ALONG A
LINE FROM GRAPELAND TO BELLVILLE TO EDNA.  MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT
20 TO 25 MPH.
 
REPORTS FROM COLLEGE STATION SHERIFF'S OFFICE INDICATE MANY STREETS IN
THE BRYAN AND COLLEGE STATION AREA ARE UNDER 2 TO 3 FEET OF WATER.  OVER
2.25 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN COLLEGE STATION IN THE PAST FEW HOURS.
RAINFALL RATES UP TO 2.5 INCHES PER HOUR CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE HEAVIER
DOWNPOURS.
 
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 Oct 13, 2:43 AM CDT, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 13, 2:43 AM CDT, 13 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
240 AM CDT MON OCT 13 1997

CDFNT ON THE MOVE. AT 2AM LCTD FM 30 NW OF CLL TO NR AUS TO SOUTH OF
OF DEL RIO MOVING AT 20 MPH. EXPECT CDFNT TO PUSH THRU CLL BTWN
08-09Z AND INTO INTERCONTINENTAL ARND 12-13Z AND OFF THE COAST
15-16Z. WILL NEED TO KEEP FFA UP FOR SRN ZNS THRU MON AM. EXPECT
DRIER AND MUCH COOLER TEMPS TO FILTER INTO REGION AFT FROPA. STILL
THINK THERE IS SLIGHT CHC OF SVR ALG SQUALL LINE MAINLY DUE TO STG
GUSTY WINDS WITH FAST MOVING TRW. NEED TO KEEP SVR IN ZNS AHD OF
CDFNT. SKIES SHOULD BECOME PTCLDY NW ZNS THIS AFTN AND CLR TONIGHT
ACRS REGION.
34

PRELIMS...
CLL E-B/V U/V 075/047 070/048 30P00 RAIN ENDING
IAH T-E/V U/V 078/050 071/048 +000 FFA AM/PSBL SVR AM
GLS T-E/V U/V 080/063 073/065 +000 FFA AM/PSBL SVR AM

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 12, 10:20 PM CDT, 4 hours 36 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-131000-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1020 PM CDT SUN OCT 12 1997

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS ALL OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING.

A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WAS DEVELOPING LATE THIS EVENING
ALONG A PREFRONTAL TROUGH THAT WAS AHEAD OF A STRONG COLD FRONT.  AT
10 PM THIS TROUGH WAS LOCATED NEAR A DALLAS/FORT WORTH TO DEL RIO
LINE.  OTHER SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AHEAD
OF THIS PREFRONTAL TROUGH ACROSS THE AREA.  AS THESE STORMS DEVELOP
AND MOVE INTO THE VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER SOUTHEAST
TEXAS...SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE LATER TONIGHT.

THE SQUALL LINE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PREFRONTAL TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO
MOVE INTO THE COLLEGE STATION AREA BETWEEN 2 AND 4 AM...THE HOUSTON
METROPOLITAN AREA BETWEEN 5 AND 7 AM...THEN TO THE COAST AFTER 9 AM.
HOWEVER...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAY BEGIN AFFECTING THE
AREA WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE SQUALL LINE.

THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE FROM STRONG DAMAGING WINDS
ASSOCIATED WITH THE SQUALL LINE.  A FLOOD AND FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS
ALSO IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS TONIGHT.

IF YOU OBSERVE SEVERE WEATHER PLEASE REPORT IT TO YOUR LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.  STAY
TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER RELIABLE NEWS SOURCES FOR THE
LATEST INFORMATION AND UPDATES.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 13, 2:56 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXAustin, Colorado, Jackson3 hr
Oct 13, 2:56 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXBrazos, Grimes, Madison, Washington3 hr
Oct 13, 3:37 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXWaller3 hr
Oct 13, 4:27 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXFort Bend, Harris, Wharton4 hr
Oct 13, 4:27 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXMontgomery, Walker4 hr
Oct 13, 4:33 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXMatagorda4 hr
Oct 13, 5:56 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXJackson119 min
Oct 13, 6:32 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXLiberty, Polk, San Jacinto4 hr
Oct 13, 6:32 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXChambers, Galveston4 hr
Oct 13, 6:32 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXBrazoria4 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.