Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 76, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Oct 13, 1997, 4:33 AM CDT for Matagorda County, Texas. It was in force for 4 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, 4:33 AM CDT (09:33 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 13, 1997, 8:30 AM CDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Matagorda County, TX
The nearest sounding before it
Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 9.6 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
- 1346 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 699 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 25 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 113 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 219 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.9
- Supercell composite
- 7.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHOU 130934 FFWHOU TXC321-131330- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 433 AM CDT MON OCT 13 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...MATAGORDA COUNTY AT 430 AM...RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF VERY HEAVY RAIN FROM HUNTSVILLE TO CONROE TO ROSENBERG TO BAY CITY. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 20 TO 25 MPH. THIS LINE OF STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE 3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAINFALL AND FLASH FLASH FLOODING IS IMMINENT DUE TO ALREADY SATURATED GROUNDS. 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, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 13, 2:43 AM CDT, 1 hour 50 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 13, 4:15 AM CDT, 18 minutes before
TXZ178-179-199-200-210>214-226-227-235>238-131505- SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAIN OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 415 AM CDT MON OCT 13 1997 THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG WITH POSSIBLE FLASH FLOOD PRODUCING RAINFALL THIS MORNING GENERALLY SOUTH OF A LIVINGSTON TO CONROE TO BELLVILLE LINE. A COLD FRONT LOCATED ALONG A LINE FROM HUNTSVILLE TO BRENHAM WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST THRU REMAINDER OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND OFF THE UPPER TEXAS COAST BY NOON TODAY. THUNDERSTORMS WITH POSSIBLE DAMAGING WINDS AND FLOOD PRODUCING RAIN WILL PRECEDE THE COLD FRONT THIS MORNING. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY CONTAIN SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS OF RAIN. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2:56 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Austin, Colorado, Jackson | 3 hr |
| Oct 13, 2:56 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazos, Grimes, Madison, Washington | 3 hr |
| Oct 13, 2:56 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Burleson | 3 hr |
| Oct 13, 3:37 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Waller | 3 hr |
| Oct 13, 4:27 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Fort Bend, Harris, Wharton | 4 hr |
| Oct 13, 4:27 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Montgomery, Walker | 4 hr |
| Oct 13, 5:56 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Jackson | 119 min |
| Oct 13, 6:32 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Liberty, Polk, San Jacinto | 4 hr |
| Oct 13, 6:32 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Chambers, Galveston | 4 hr |
| Oct 13, 6:32 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 4 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.