Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 45, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

September 10, 1998Brazoria County, Matagorda County, Wharton County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Sep 10, 1998, 10:09 PM CDT for Brazoria County, Matagorda County, Wharton 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
Sep 10, 1998, 10:09 PM CDT (03:09 UTC)
Expired
Sep 11, 1998, 2:00 AM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Brazoria County, TX, Matagorda County, TX, Wharton County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:10 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, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 207 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 1998-09-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4 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 1998-09-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 76 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-114 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
501 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
170 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHOU 110309
FFWHOU
TXC039-157-321-481-110700-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1009 PM CDT THU SEP 10 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  BRAZORIA COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS
  SOUTHERN FORT BEND COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS
  MATAGORDA COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS
  WHARTON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS

* UNTIL 200 AM CDT

* AT 1000 PM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A
  CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN CENTERED 5 MILES
  NORTH OF BAY CITY... MOVING WEST-NORTHWEST AT 15 MPH.

  A SECOND BAND OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS DEVELOPING FROM NEAR FREEPORT
  AND EXTENDING OFFSHORE TO THE SOUTHEAST.  THIS BAND SHOULD PASS
  INLAND FROM THE BRAZORIA COUNTY COAST FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST.

  RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS BETWEEN 10 PM AND 2 AM MAY EXCEED 4
  INCHES IN SOME LOCATIONS OF BRAZORIA AND WHARTON COUNTIES.

* THIS CLUSTER OF HEAVY TROPICAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL
  CONTINUE TO PRODUCE RAINFALL RATES OF 2 TO 3 INCHES PER HOUR.

  BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
  DANGERS OF FLASH FLOODING.  STAYb ALERT FOR FLASH FLOODING AND BE
  PREPARED TO MOVE SHOULD FLOODING THREATEN.

  DO NOT DRIVE INTO WATER-COVERED ROADWAYS!

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 Sep 10, 8:33 PM CDT, 1 hour 36 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 8:33 PM CDT, 1 hour 36 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
833 PM CDT THU SEP 10 1998

LATEST UPDATE FROM NHC HAS SHIFTED CENTER OF FRANCES NORTHWARD AND
MUCH CLOSER TO HOME.  THIS COINCIDES WELL WITH LATEST SFC/BUOY
REPORTS AND SATL IMAGERY.   FA IS GETTING POUNDED BY HEAVY RAINBANDS
WITH EMBEDDED STRONGER TSTMS.  SOME OF THE STRONGER CELLS ARE
SHOWING ROTATION ON RADAR.  EXPECT THREATS OF FLASH FLOODING AND
ISOLATED TORNADOS TO CONT THRU TNGT...ESPECIALLY OVR THE COASTAL
SECTIONS.  WITH FRANCES NOW CLOSER TO FA...TIGHTENING PRES GRADIENT
WILL ALLOW DANGEROUSLY STRONG WNDS TO PERSIST AND EVEN STRENGTHEN
THRU THE NGT AND ON FRI AS THE STORM DRIFTS NNW.

CRNT FCST HAS GOOD HANDLE ON ALL BUT MAYBE WINDS.   WOULD LIKE TO
BUMP UP WNDS ALONG COASTAL ZONES FOR NXT TWO PERIODS TO 35 TO 45 MPH
WITH GUST TO 55 TO 65 MPH.  ALSO BUMP UP HARRIS COUNTY WINDS FOR NXT
TWO PERIODS TO 20 TO 25 MPH WITH GUST TO 30 TO 40 MPH.  RMNG INLAND
ZONES SHUD READ 15 TO 25 MPH WITH MENTION OF HIGHER GUST.
39

PRELIMS...
       SKY       TEMPS    POPS          WINDS
CLL E/E E/E  76/85 76/90  *865  15-25GSTY/15-25GSTY       FFA
NE  C/C E/E  76/85 76/90  *866  15-25GSTY/15-25GSTY       FFA
IAH C/C C/C  76/84 76/88  **76  20-25G30-40/20-25G30-40   FFA
GLS C/C C/C  78/83 78/86  **87  35-45G55-65/35-45G55-65   FFA

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 10, 5:25 PM CDT, 4 hours 44 minutes before
TXZ213-214-235>238-102330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
525 PM CDT THU SEP 10 1998

...VERY HIGH TIDES EXPECTED THIS EVENING...

RECENT TRENDS AT TIDE GAUGES ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST INDICATE
THAT GALVESTON BEACH FRONT TIDES WILL REACH BETWEEN 5 TO 6 FEET
ABOVE THE PREDICTED LEVEL THIS EVENING.  HIGH TIDE AT PLEASURE
PIER WILL OCCUR AT 829 PM.  WATER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH
BETWEEN 7 AND 8 FEET AT THIS HIGH TIDE. IN ADDITION TO THE HIGH
TIDE...EXPECT VERY STRONG WIND GUSTS AS SQUALLS CONTINUE TO PUSH
ONSHORE. AT 5 PM...A 55 MPH WIND GUST WAS REPORTED AT HIGH ISLAND.

SIMILAR OR SLIGHTLY HIGHER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE
FOLLOWING HIGH TIDE AT 637 AM...EARLY FRIDAY MORNING.
Special weather statement, Sep 10, 5:25 PM CDT, 4 hours 44 minutes before
TXZ213-214-235>238-102330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
525 PM CDT THU SEP 10 1998

...VERY HIGH TIDES EXPECTED THIS EVENING...

RECENT TRENDS AT TIDE GAUGES ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST INDICATE
THAT GALVESTON BEACH FRONT TIDES WILL REACH BETWEEN 5 TO 6 FEET
ABOVE THE PREDICTED LEVEL THIS EVENING.  HIGH TIDE AT PLEASURE
PIER WILL OCCUR AT 829 PM.  WATER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH
BETWEEN 7 AND 8 FEET AT THIS HIGH TIDE. IN ADDITION TO THE HIGH
TIDE...EXPECT VERY STRONG WIND GUSTS AS SQUALLS CONTINUE TO PUSH
ONSHORE. AT 5 PM...A 55 MPH WIND GUST WAS REPORTED AT HIGH ISLAND.

SIMILAR OR SLIGHTLY HIGHER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE
FOLLOWING HIGH TIDE AT 637 AM...EARLY FRIDAY MORNING.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 10, 7:13 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXGalveston4 hr
Sep 10, 8:02 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXBrazoria, Galveston63 min
Sep 10, 10:09 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXFort Bend4 hr
Sep 11, 12:09 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXGalveston4 hr
Sep 11, 1:29 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXGalveston, Harris66 min
Sep 11, 2:03 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXBrazoria, Fort Bend, Harris4 hr
Sep 11, 3:31 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXGalveston64 min
Sep 11, 4:01 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXGalveston4 hr
Sep 11, 4:31 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXHarris64 min
Sep 11, 4:39 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXJackson4 hr
Sep 11, 5:32 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXGrimes, Montgomery, Waller4 hr
Sep 11, 5:54 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXHarris4 hr
Sep 11, 6:06 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXFort Bend64 min
Sep 11, 6:18 AM CDTTornado WarningHGXHarris62 min
Sep 11, 7:49 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXBrazoria, Galveston4 hr
Sep 11, 7:49 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXFort Bend4 hr
Sep 11, 8:58 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXHarris6 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.