Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 75, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

September 12, 1997Midland County, Texas

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this flash flood warning at Sep 12, 1997, 5:13 PM CDT for Midland 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
Sep 12, 1997, 5:13 PM CDT (22:13 UTC)
Expired
Sep 12, 1997, 8:15 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Midland County, TX

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 17 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:14 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

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 18 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, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-09-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 462 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-09-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 157 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
462 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-218 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1284 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
219 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMAF 122223 COR
FFWMAF
TXC329-130115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
513 PM CDT FRI SEP 12 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND TX HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 815 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS

   ...NORTHERN MIDLAND COUNTY

HEAVY RAINS FROM SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE AFFECT THE CITY
OF MIDLAND. SINCE 510 PM...DOPPLER RADAR HAS REPORTED UPWARDS OF TWO
INCHES OF RAIN...WITH MORE ON THE WAY. REPORTS OF VEHICLES GETTING
STALLED BY HEAVY RAINS...AND HIGH WATER DEPTHS HAVE BEEN
REPORTED...ESPECIALLY OVER THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CITY OF
MIDLAND.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. NEVER ATTEMPT TO CROSS A FLOODED STREAM BY FOOT. TO ESCAPE
RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATIONS...YOUR CABLE
TELEVISION OUTLET...OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST UPDATES AND
POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION.

&

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 Midland/Odessa, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Sep 12, 2:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 12, 2:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 18 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
253 PM CDT FRI SEP 12 1997

A MOISTURE PLUME NOT DIRECTLY ASSOC WITH HURRICANE LINDA HAS MOVED A
BIT MORE EAST...AND AS OF 19Z EXTDD FROM THE BIG BEND...OVER SE/NM
AND THE PERMIAN BASIN...TO THE PNHDL. THIS MOISTURE IS SCT/BKN IN
COVERAGE WITH SOME AREAS AT THE SFC GETTING ABUNDANT SUNSHINE...
OTHERS LIKE MAF NOT AT THE MOMENT. LITTLE REMAINS OF THE UPPER RIDGE
THAT HAS BEEN CONTROLLING THE WX MOST THIS SUMMER. 18Z SFC ANLYS HAS
A WEAK SFC TROF MAINTAINING IT'S POSITION FROM NE NM TO THE VICINITY
OF ELP. SLIGHTLY HIR DEWPOINTS NOTED AROUND THE CWA COMPARED TO THE
PAST 24HRS...WITH THE USUAL CNVTN GOING IN THE DAVIS MTNS AND PARTS
OF THE MARFA PLATEAU.

THE GENERAL FCST OVER THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS SHOULD BE ONE OF A DRYING
TREND...IF ONE DOES NOT CONSIDER THE PSBL INFLUENCE OF HURRICANE
LINDA. THE UPPER RIDGE IS FCST TO REBUILD OVER THE REGION. THIS
SHOULD PUSH THE THETA-E...AND ASSOCD MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AXIS WWD
TO THE MTNS. BUT...A RATHER SIGNIFICANT TROF IS FCST TO DIG ALONG
THE WEST COAST OVER THE WEEKEND. THIS MAY FORCE THE HURRICANE TO
MOVE IN MORE NLY PATH. SEE LATEST NHC ADVISORIES FOR PERTINENT
STATEMENTS.

IN THE SHORTER TERM...EXPECT MORE SCT RW/TRW TO DVLP OFF THE MTNS.
GENERAL MOVEMENT THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING SHOULD BE MORE TO THE EAST
...WITH SCT TO WDLY SCT STORMS DVLPG OVER THE TRANS-PECOS AND NEARBY
PLAINS AS BOUNDARIES FROM THE MTN STORMS PROPAGATE EWD. FCST FOR THE
REGION WITH 30 POPS INVOF MTNS EARLY...THEN EVENING SHIFT CAN REDUCE
THEM AS CONDITIONS ALLOW. OTHERWISE CURRENT TRENDS SHOULD DO. FOR
TEMPS NEXT TWO PERIODS WILL GENLY FOLLOW PERSISTANCE. WILL NOTE HIER
POPS NEAR THE MTNS.. .WITH LESSER POPS TOWARD ERN PLAINS. COMMENTS
ARE WELCOME...

MAF  66/92  30/10
CNM  66/91  30/20
MRF  59/83  30/20
P07  72/93  20/10

RB/JP

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 12, 11:31 AM CDT, 5 hours 42 minutes before
NMZ027>029-TXZ045>048-050>052-057>063-067>070-074-075-079>082-130500-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
1128 AM CDT (1028 AM MDT) FRI SEP 12 1997

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN WEST TEXAS:

ANDREWS   CULBERSON  GLASSCOCK   MARTIN    REAGAN   UPTON
BORDEN    DAWSON     HOWARD      MIDLAND   REEVES   WARD
BREWSTER  ECTOR      JEFF DAVIS  PECOS     SCURRY   WINKLER
CRANE     GAINES     LOVING      PRESIDIO  TERRELL

AND IN SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO:

EDDY      LEA

SYNOPSIS: A STREAM OF MIDDLE AND UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE...NOT
DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH HURRICANE LINDA...WILL FLOW OVER THE
OUTLOOK AREA TODAY. AT THE SURFACE...A WEAK TROF EXTENDING FROM
NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO...TO EAST OF EL PASO WILL SLOWLY MOVE
EASTWARD OVER THE NEXT DAY.

WITH MORE GOOD DAYTIME HEATING...AND A RELATIVELY MOIST
SOUTHEASTERLY SURFACE FLOW...WILL HELP LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
THESE STORMS SHOULD DEVELOP FIRST NEAR THE MOUNTAINS...AND MOVE
EASTWARD TO THE PLAINS AND TRANS-PECOS REGION BY THIS EVENING. ONE
OR TWO STORMS MAY BRIEFLY APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS...WITH THE PRIMARY
THREAT HIGH WIND GUSTS.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

FOR THE WEST CENTRAL TEXAS OUTLOOK SEE PRODUCT LBBSPSSJT.

RB/JP

The office that day

Everything else NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 12, 3:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFScurry49 min
Sep 12, 3:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFMidland48 min
Sep 12, 5:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFMidland46 min
Sep 12, 5:42 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningMAFScurry3 hr
Sep 12, 6:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFMidland46 min
Sep 12, 6:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFEctor49 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.