Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 8, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Feb 20, 1997, 3:59 PM CST for Madison County, Texas. It was in force for 2 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
- Feb 20, 1997, 3:59 PM CST (21:59 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 20, 1997, 6:00 PM CST
- In force
- 2 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Madison County, TX
The nearest sounding before it
Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 244 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
- 372 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 546 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 197 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 245 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 2.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHOU 202156 FFWHOU TXC313-210000- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 359 PM CST THU FEB 20 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...MADISON COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTS INDICATE 1.5 INCHES OF RAIN IN THE LAST HOUR. ANOTHER BAND OF HEAVY RAIN WILL MOVE THROUGH THE COUNTY BY 5 PM AND PRODUCE ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN. PORTIONS OF HIGHWAY 21 ARE WATER COVERED BUT STILL PASSABLE. MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR UNDERPASSES IF WATERP 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 Feb 20, 3:21 PM CST, 38 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 20, 3:21 PM CST, 38 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 321 PM CST THU FEB 20 1997 500 MB LOW PLACEMENT INITIALIZED WELL WITH THE 160 KM ETA. THE MDL PLACES THE LOW OVR THE HILL COUNTRY BY 00Z...AND SATL LOOPS HAVE CONFIRMED THIS MOVEMENT. AS THE LOW BEGINS TO KICK OUT TWD THE RED RIVER VALLEY THIS EVE...CAN XPC TSTMS TO MOVE E OF THE FCST AREA. THE STMS SHUD BE E OF OR ALONG AN IAH TO GLS LINE BY 02Z THEN E OF THE FCST AREA WELL BEFORE MIDNIGHT. NEED TO CONT THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH OVR SETX FOR EARLY THIS EVE...CAN DROP COUNTIES AS NEEDED. WNDS IN ADV CAT ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE LOW SHUD AFFECT THE FCST AREA FRI. CDFNT MOVS THRU SETX FM THE N FRI AND MINS FRI NGT MAY GET INTO THE 30S. SEE PRELIMS FOR TEMP AND POP INFO. 40 PRELIMS... CLL E/B B/B 53/66 39/57 4--- (CHC OF RWS OR TSTMS THIS EVE EARLY) IAH T/E B/B 59/70 40/58 61-- (TSTMS ENDING THIS EVE) GLS T/B E/B 60/68 44/56 61-- (TSTMS ENDING THIS EVE)
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Feb 20, 10:52 AM CST, 5 hours 7 minutes before
TXZ176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-511-513-202335- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1052 AM CST THU FEB 20 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TWO TORNADO WATCHES EFFECTIVE UNTIL 5 PM FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREAS INCLUDE: AUSTIN...BRAZORIA...BRAZOS...BURLESON...CHAMBERS...COLORADO...FORT BEND...GALVESTON...GRIMES...HARRIS...JACKSON...LIBERTY...MADISON... MATAGORDA...MONTGOMERY...POLK...SAN JACINTO...WALKER...WALLER... WASHINGTON...AND WHARTON COUNTIES INCLUDING THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. THE WATCH ALSO INCLUDES MILAM...LEON... AND ROBERTSON COUNTIES IN CENTRAL TEXAS. REMEMBER A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE WEATHER AND TORNADOES TO FORM IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA ARE URGED TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER THREATEN THE AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.
Special weather statement, Feb 20, 10:57 AM CST, 5 hours 2 minutes before
TXZ176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-511-513-202335- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1052 AM CST THU FEB 20 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TWO TORNADO WATCHES EFFECTIVE UNTIL 5 PM FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREAS INCLUDE: AUSTIN...BRAZORIA...BRAZOS...BURLESON...CHAMBERS...COLORADO...FORT BEND...GALVESTON...GRIMES...HARRIS...JACKSON...LIBERTY...MADISON... MATAGORDA...MONTGOMERY...POLK...SAN JACINTO...WALKER...WALLER... WASHINGTON...AND WHARTON COUNTIES INCLUDING THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. THE WATCH ALSO INCLUDES MILAM...LEON... AND ROBERTSON COUNTIES IN CENTRAL TEXAS. REMEMBER A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE WEATHER AND TORNADOES TO FORM IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA ARE URGED TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER THREATEN THE AREAf. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.
Special weather statement, Feb 20, 2:58 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute before
TXZ176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-511-513-163-164-210300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 258 PM CST THU FEB 20 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED ANOTHER TORNADO WATCH FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM. THIS WATCH REPLACES THE PREVIOUS TWO WATCHES PREVIOUSLY IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM. COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH AREA INCLUDE: AUSTIN...BRAZORIA...BRAZOS...BURLESON...CHAMBERS...COLORADO...FORT BEND...GALVESTON...GRIMES...HARRIS...HOUSTON...JACKSON...LIBERTY... MADISON...MATAGORDA...MONTGOMERY...POLK...SAN JACINTO...TRINITY... WALKER...WALLER...WASHINGTON...AND WHARTON COUNTIES INCLUDING THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. THE WATCH ALSO INCLUDES LEON AND ROBERTSON COUNTIES IN CENTRAL TEXAS. REMEMBER A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE WEATHER AND TORNADOES TO FORM IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA ARE URGED TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER THREATEN THE AREA. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 1:47 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Austin | 118 min |
| Feb 20, 3:05 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Austin, Colorado, Washington | 3 hr |
| Feb 20, 3:05 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazos, Burleson | 3 hr |
| Feb 20, 3:44 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Grimes | 3 hr |
| Feb 20, 4:04 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Waller | 116 min |
| Feb 20, 4:25 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Montgomery, Walker | 3 hr |
| Feb 20, 4:25 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Houston | 3 hr |
| Feb 20, 4:47 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Fort Bend, Harris | 58 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.