Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 67, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

October 4, 1998Galveston County, Harris County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Oct 4, 1998, 6:52 PM CDT for Galveston County, Harris County, Texas. It was in force for 118 min. 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 4, 1998, 6:52 PM CDT (23:52 UTC)
Expired
Oct 4, 1998, 8:50 PM CDT
In force
118 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Galveston County, TX, Harris County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 193 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 1998-10-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2319 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 1998-10-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 68 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
2319 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
724 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
77 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 042351
FFWHOU
TXC167-201-050150-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
652 PM CDT SUN OCT 4 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN GALVESTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS
  SOUTHERN AND EASTERN HARRIS COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS

* UNTIL 850 PM CDT

* AT 645 PM CDT... RADAR AND SPOTTERS INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS
  WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER NORTHERN GALVESTON COUNTY...AND SOUTHERN
  AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF HARRIS COUNTY ... MOVING NORTHEAST 10 MPH.

* RADAR AND SURFACE REPORTS SHOW THAT A LARGE PORTION OF NORTHERN
  GALVESTON AND SOUTHERN HARRIS COUNTY HAVE RECEIVED 4 OR MORE
  INCHES OF RAIN SINCE 400 PM. ANOTHER 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN IS
  POSSIBLE THROUGH 830 PM. EXPECT WIDESPREAD STREET FLOODING AND
  ISOLATED OVERFLOWS OF SOME CREEKS AND BAYOUS IN THE AREA.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER lTO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLASH FLOODING. DO NOT DRIVE INTO FLOOD WATERS. THE DEPTH
MAY BE TOO GREAT TO CROSS SAFELY.

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 4, 2:40 PM CDT, 4 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 4, 2:40 PM CDT, 4 hours 12 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
240 PM CDT SUN OCT 4 1998

STRONG MOISTURE CONVERGENCE ACRS FA BEING ENHANCED BY UPR LVL S/W
AND WEAK DIFFLUENT FLOW TO PRODUCE SCT TO NUMEROUS SHWRS/TSTMS ACRS
FA THIS AFTN.  ALTHO MDLS CONT TO HINT AT SOME DRYING OUT AND UPR
LVL S/W ENERGY WEAKENING & SHIFTING EWD...WILL NOT BUY INTO IT JUST
YET AND CONT WITH PERSISTANT POPS THRU MON. INCREASING CHC OF RAIN
LIKELY WARRANTED AS ERLY AS MONDAY NGT...ESPECIALLY OVR NRN SECTIONS
AS STRONG S/W PUSHES INTO TX AND DRAGS CF TWRD CNTRL TX TUES AFTN.
WILL LEAVE AMPLE ROOM FOR TWEAKING OF POPS 4TH PERIOD AS TIMING AND
LOCATION OF BEST CONVECTION STILL A LTL UNCERTAIN WITH BEST DYNAMICS
LIKELY N-NE OF FA.  HOWEVER...WARM/MOIST 30+KT INFLOW NOTED AT 85H
WITH INCREASING JET AND STRONG DIFFLUENT FLOW ALOFT SHUD ENHANCE
UVV'S ACRS FA BY TUE MRNG AND RESULT IN SCT-NUMEROUS TSTMS ACRS FA
BY TUES AFTN WITH PSBLY THREAT OF SVR & HVY RAINS.  OTHERWISE...
EXPECT CRTN ACTIVITY ON RADAR TO TAPPER OFF DURING THE ERLY EVNG
PERIOD BUT THEN REDVLP NEAR THE COAST AND MOVE INLAND AGAIN TWRD
MRNG.  THUS...LEAVING CHC POPS IN ACRS ERN AND UPR COASTAL SECTIONS
TNGT WHERE BEST CONVERGENCE WILL PERSIST.  COOLER TMPS EXPECTED ON
TUES WITH INCREASING CLDS AND BETTER CHC RAIN.  39

PRELIMS...

CLL E/B E/E 076/092 074/088  2335

IAH E/B E/E 076/092 075/088  3334

GLS B/B B/E 079/089 078/087  4334

ERN E/B E/E 075/091 075/087  4334  (LIBERTY/SAN JAC/POLK)

SW  B/B B/E 076/090 076/088  2223  (JACKSON/MATAGORDA)

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 4, 2:13 PM CDT, 4 hours 39 minutes before
GMZ330-335-350-355-370-375-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-
235>238-042359-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
213 PM CDT SUN OCT 4 1998

...TROPICAL FUNNELS AND WATERSPOUTS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON...

A MOIST AND UNSTABLE TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT PERSISTS ACROSS SOUTHEAST
TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT FAVORABLE FOR TROPICAL
FUNNELS AND WATERSPOUTS TO DEVELOPMENT.

THOUGH TROPICAL FUNNELS RARELY TOUCH THE GROUND...RESIDENTS SHOULD
KEEP AN EYE TO THE SKY SHOULD YOU SEE ONE OF THESE FUNNELS NEARING
THE GROUND AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER.

WATERSPOUTS GENERALLY LAST 7 TO 12 MINUTES AND CAN PRODUCE WINDS IN
EXCESS OF 35 KNOTS.  MARINERS WHO SPOT A WATERSPOUT SHOULD AVOID THE
AREA.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE RADAR FOR
ANY INDICATIONS OF ROTATION AND WILL ISSUE TORNADO WARNINGS OR
SPECIAL MARINE WARNINGS IF WARRANTED.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATEST
WEATHER INFORMATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 4, 1:59 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXHarris31 min

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.