Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 25, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

February 21, 1998DeWitt County, Lavaca County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this flash flood warning at Feb 21, 1998, 6:32 PM CST for DeWitt County, Lavaca 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
Feb 21, 1998, 6:32 PM CST (00:32 UTC)
Expired
Feb 21, 1998, 9:30 PM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties DeWitt County, TX, Lavaca County, TX

The radar

The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:36 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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 168 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1998-02-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1168 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1998-02-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 176 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
1168 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
661 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
176 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
177 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
5.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSAT 220033
FFWSAT
TXC123-285-220330-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
632 PM CST SAT FEB 21 1998
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  930 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...DE WITT COUNTY...LAVACA COUNTY
 
AT 630 PM CST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDING ACROSS BOTH DE WITT AND LAVACA COUNTIES. RAINFALL RATES OF UP
TO 2 INCHES AN HOUR CAN BE EXPECTED WITH MOST OF THE STORMS. HEAVY RAIN
WILL AFFECT BOTH COUNTIES FOR THE NEXT 3 HOURS CAUSING FLASH FLOODING.
PEA SIZE HAIL AS WELL AS WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 40 MPH CAN ALSO BE
EXPECTED.
 
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.  IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED
ACT QUICKLY.  MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS.  DO
NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IMMINENT.
MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS BRIDGES...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY
TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT TO ESCAPE
RISING WATER DURING THREATENING RAINS.

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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 21, 3:00 PM CST, 3 hours 32 minutes before
TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-220115-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
300 PM CST SAT FEB 21 1998

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM THIS EVENING...

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTH TEXAS THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...THE TEXAS
COASTAL BEND...THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS...AND PORTIONS OF DEEP SOUTH
TEXAS.  IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS PORTION...THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE
COUNTIES OF ATASCOSA...BANDERA...BEXAR...COMAL...DEWITT...DIMMIT...
EDWARDS...FRIO...GONZALES...GUADALUPE...KARNES...KENDALL...KERR...
KINNEY...LAVACA...MAVERICK...MEDINA...REAL...UVALDE...VAL VERDE...
WILSON...AND ZAVALA.

A VIGOROUS AND DANGEROUS STORM SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY LOCATED OVER WEST
TEXAS...MOVING EASTWARD INTO THE SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.  THUNDERSTORMS
ARE FORECASTED FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT OVER ALL OF SOUTH TEXAS
WITH A HIGH RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG WITH LARGE HAIL...
DAMAGING WINDS...FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING.  THE THREAT OF TORNADIC DEVELOPMENT ALSO
EXISTS.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTH TEXAS...SOUTH OF A
LINE THAT RUNS FROM DEL RIO TO JUNCTION TO LLANO TO COLLEGE STATION
TO LUFKIN TO NEWTON.

THIS WATCH MEANS THAT FLOODING IS POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA DUE
TO THE HEAVY RAINS THAT WILL OCCUR WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS.  HEAVY
RAINS WILL CAUSE THE RAPID RISE OF STREAMS AND RIVERS...FLOODING OF
LOW LYING AREA...ROADS...AND LOW WATER CROSSINGS.

THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION.  RESIDENTS AND
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS IN SOUTH TEXAS ARE URGED TO MONITOR
FORECASTS AND ADVISORIES ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES.
THESE BULLETINS WILL BE BROADCAST OVER LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS

CABLE TV OUTLETS AND NOAA WEATHER RADIO STATIONS.  LISTEN FOR THESE
BROADCASTS...AND HEED THEIR ADVICE.

NEARBY HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOKS INCLUDE:
FOR SOUTHWEST TEXAS...FROM MIDLAND...LBBSPSMAF
FOR THE CONCHO VALLEY...FROM SAN ANGELO...LBBSPSSJT
FOR NORTH TEXAS...FROM FORT WORTH...FTWSPSFTW
FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS...FROM HOUSTON/GALVESTON...SATSPSHOU
FOR COASTAL BEND/RIO GRANDE PLAINS...FROM CORPUS CHRISTI...SATSPSCRP.

THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NORMALLY WILL BE UPDATED BY MEANS OF
THE ZONE FORECASTS SHORT TERM FORECASTS WATCHES WARNINGS AND
ADVISORIES.  THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK ITSELF WILL BE UPDATED
ONLY IF UNEXPECTED HAZARDOUS WEATHER DEVELOPS OR IF EXPECTED
HAZARDOUS WEATHER NO LONGER IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP.

ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS HOME PAGE OF THE INTERNET
WORLD WIDE WEB AT: www.srh.noaa.gov/ewx OR TUNE TO THE CLOSEST NOAA
WEATHER RADIO STATION OPERATING ON A FREQUENCY BETWEEN 162.400 MHz
AND 162.550 MHz.
Special weather statement, Feb 21, 6:00 PM CST, 32 minutes before
TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-221200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
600 PM CST SAT FEB 21 1998

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM THIS EVENING FOR PORTIONS
   OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...THE COASTAL BEND...THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS
   ...AND DEEP SOUTH TEXAS...
...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTH TEXAS TONIGHT...
...A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR COASTAL BEND AND DEEP SOUTH
   TEXAS...

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT THIS EVENING UNTIL 9 PM FOR FOR SOUTH
CENTRAL TEXAS...THE TEXAS COASTAL BEND...THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS...AND
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.  IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS PORTION...THIS WATCH
INCLUDES THE COUNTIES OF ATASCOSA...BANDERA...BEXAR... COMAL...
DEWITT...DIMMIT...EDWARDS...FRIO...GONZALES...GUADALUPE...KARNES...
KENDALL...KERR...KINNEY...LAVACA...MAVERICK...MEDINA...REAL...
UVALDE...VAL VERDE...WILSON...AND ZAVALA.

A VIGOROUS AND DANGEROUS STORM SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY MOVING EASTWARD
ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.  THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING WITH LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING...LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING.  TORNADOS ALSO HAVE OCCURRED.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTH TEXAS...SOUTH OF A
LINE THAT RUNS FROM DEL RIO TO JUNCTION TO LLANO TO COLLEGE STATION
TO LUFKIN TO NEWTON.

FLOODING HAS OCCURRED WITH THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE WATCH
AREA.  HEAVY RAINS HAVE CAUSE RAPID RISES OF STREAMS AND RIVERS...
FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREA...ROADS...AND LOW WATER CROSSINGS.
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES PER HOUR ARE LIKELY WITH ISOLATED
AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES OR MORE POSSIBLE.

THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION.  RESIDENTS AND
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS IN SOUTH TEXAS NEED TO KEEP ADVISED OF
THE ONGOING WEATHER AND ARE URGED TO MONITOR FORECASTS AND ADVISORIES
ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES.  BULLETINS ARE BEING
BROADCAST OVER LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS...CABLE TV OUTLETS AND
NOAA WEATHER RADIO STATIONS.  PLEASE CONTINUE TO LISTEN TO THESE
BROADCASTS...AND HEED THEIR ADVICE.

NEARBY HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOKS INCLUDE:
FOR SOUTHWEST TEXAS...FROM MIDLAND...LBBSPSMAF
FOR THE CONCHO VALLEY...FROM SAN ANGELO...LBBSPSSJT
FOR NORTH TEXAS...FROM FORT WORTH...FTWSPSFTW
FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS...FROM HOUSTON/GALVESTON...SATSPSHOU
FOR COASTAL BEND/RIO GRANDE PLAINS...FROM CORPUS CHRISTI...SATSPSCRP.

THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NORMALLY WILL BE UPDATED BY MEANS OF
THE ZONE FORECASTS SHORT TERM FORECASTS WATCHES WARNINGS AND
ADVISORIES.  THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK ITSELF WILL BE UPDATED
ONLY IF UNEXPECTED HAZARDOUS WEATHER DEVELOPS OR IF EXPECTED
HAZARDOUS WEATHER NO LONGER IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP.

ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS HOME PAGE OF THE INTERNET
WORLD WIDE WEB AT: www.srh.noaa.gov/ewx OR TUNE TO THE CLOSEST NOAA
WEATHER RADIO STATION OPERATING ON A FREQUENCY BETWEEN 162.400 MHz
AND 162.550 MHz.
Special weather statement, Feb 21, 6:32 PM CST, 0 minutes before
TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-221200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
600 PM CST SAT FEB 21 1998

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM THIS EVENING FOR PORTIONS
   OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...THE COASTAL BEND...THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS
   ...AND DEEP SOUTH TEXAS...
...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTH TEXAS TONIGHT...
...A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR COASTAL BEND AND DEEP SOUTH
   TEXAS...

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT THIS EVENING UNTIL 9 PM FOR FOR SOUTH
CENTRAL TEXAS...THE TEXAS COASTAL BEND...THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS...AND
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.  IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS PORTION...THIS WATCH
INCLUDES THE COUNTIES OF ATASCOSA...BANDERA...BEXAR... COMAL...
DEWITT...DIMMIT...EDWARDS...FRIO...GONZALES...GUADALUPE...KARNES...
KENDALL...KERR...KINNEY...LAVACA...MAVERICK...MEDINA...REAL...
UVALDE...VAL VERDE...WILSON...AND ZAVALA.

A VIGOROUS AND DANGEROUS STORM SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY MOVING EASTWARD
ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.  THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING WITH LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING...LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING.  TORNADOS ALSO HAVE OCCURRED.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTH TEXAS...SOUTH OF A
LINE THAT RUNS FROM DEL RIO TO JUNCTION TO LLANO TO COLLEGE STATION
TO LUFKIN TO NEWTON.

FLOODING HAS OCCURRED WITH THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE WATCH
AREA.  HEAVY RAINS HAVE CAUSE RAPID RISES OF STREAMS AND RIVERS...
FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREA...ROADS...AND LOW WATER CROSSINGS.
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES PER HOUR ARE LIKELY WITH ISOLATED
AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES OR MORE POSSIBLE.

THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION.  RESIDENTS AND
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS IN SOUTH TEXAS NEED TO KEEP ADVISED OF
THE ONGOING WEATHER AND ARE URGED TO MONITOR FORECASTS AND ADVISORIES
ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES.  BULLETINS ARE BEING
BROADCAST OVER LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS...CABLE TV OUTLETS AND
NOAA WEATHER RADIO STATIONS.  PLEASE CONTINUE TO LISTEN TO THESE
BROADCASTS...AND HEED THEIR ADVICE.

NEARBY HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOKS INCLUDE:
FOR SOUTHWEST TEXAS...FROM MIDLAND...LBBSPSMAF
FOR THE CONCHO VALLEY...FROM SAN ANGELO...LBBSPSSJT
FOR NORTH TEXAS...FROM FORT WORTH...FTWSPSFTW
FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS...FROM HOUSTON/GALVESTON...SATSPSHOU
FOR COASTAL BEND/RIO GRANDE PLAINS...FROM CORPUS CHRISTI...SATSPSCRP.

THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NORMALLY WILL BE UPDATED BY MEANS OF
THE ZONE FORECASTS SHORT TERM FORECASTS WATCHES WARNINGS AND
ADVISORIES.  THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK ITSELF WILL BE UPDATED
ONLY IF UNEXPECTED HAZARDOUS WEATHER DEVELOPS OR IF EXPECTED
HAZARDOUS WEATHER NO LONGER IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP.

ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS HOME PAGE OF THE INTERNET
WORLD WIDE WEB AT: www.srh.noaa.gov/ewx OR TUNE TO THE CLOSEST NOAA
WEATHER RADIO STATION OPERATING ON A FREQUENCY BETWEEN 162.400 MHz
AND 162.550 MHz.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 21, 8:17 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXDeWitt58 min
Feb 21, 9:32 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningEWXDeWitt, Lavaca3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 1998Every flash flood warning in 1998

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.