Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 78, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

October 17, 1998Brazos County, Grimes County, Madison County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Oct 17, 1998, 5:40 PM CDT for Brazos County, Grimes County, Madison 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
Oct 17, 1998, 5:40 PM CDT (22:40 UTC)
Expired
Oct 17, 1998, 8:35 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Brazos County, TX, Grimes County, TX, Madison County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 261 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 1998-10-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1219 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 1998-10-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 130 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1219 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
713 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
130 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
226 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
10.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 17, 2:40 PM CDT, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 17, 2:40 PM CDT, 3 hours before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
240 PM CDT SAT OCT 17 1998

A VERY COMPLEX AND TRICKY FCST THIS RUN.  MDLS RMN IN FAIR AGREEMENT
WITH DRIVING UPR LOW OVR CNTRL PLAINS TOWARD GREAT LAKES REGION BY
MRNG AND SLWLY DRAGGING CF INTO NRN ZONES ERLY SUN AFTN.  FNT LOOSES
ITS PUSH AS MID-UPR LVL FLOW GOES MAINLY ZONAL WITH FNT AND NEW UPR
LOW DVLPS OVR BAJA.  FNT MAY SAG SLGTLY SWRD SUN NGT BUT SHUD RMN
FOCUS FOR TSTMS ALNG AND OUT AHEAD OF FNT WELL INTO MON.  STILL
UNCERTAIN ABOUT TIMING OF FROPA OFF UPR COAST BUT AVN AND ETA DO
SUGGEST SOMETIME LATE MON AFTN.  GOOD OVERRUNNING EVENT SETS UP
QUICKLY BEHIND FROPA ALL AREAS WITH MOIST SRLY FLOW AT 85OMB AND
PACIFIC MOIST SW FLOW AT 700MB.  SERIES OF WEAK IMPULSES IN THE UPR
LVL JET WILL ENHANCE OVERRUNNING LIFT AND RESULT IN EMBEDDED TSTMS
AND THREAT OF LCLY HVY RAINS ACRS MUCH OF FA SUN NGT-MON.  AT THIS
TIME...WILL PLAN ON FROPA WITH CLDS...OVERRUNNING RAINS AND COOLER
TMPS MOST AREAS BY MON AFTN.  THIS PATTERN WILL LIKELY PERSIST TILL
BAJA LOW KICKS OUT SOMETIME MID WEEK.

HAVE ALLIGNED TOR WATCH AREA WITH SAME COUNTIES IN FLASH FLOOD WATCH
FOR TNGT.  ADD MENTION OF PSBL SVR HERE TNGT.  WILL HOLD OFF ON ANY
MENTION OF PSBL SVR ACRS REST OF FA FOR SUN AS MAIN UPR DYNAMICS
APPEARS TO PULL OFF TO NE.

CLL  C/C C/C  70/78 64/76 8766  (TOR WATCH HERE TILL 8 PM TNGT)
(FLASH FLOOD WATCH TNGT-SUNDAY...BRAZOS, MADISON, GRIMES, BURLESON,
 WASHINGTON, AUSTIN, COLORADO, WALLER)

IAH  C/C C/C  74/83 65/78 7876  (LCLY HVY RAIN PSBL TNGT & SUNDAY)

SW   E/C C/C  75/83 73/79 6776  (LCLY HVY RAIN PSBL SUNDAY)
                                (JACKSON,WHARTON2,MATAGORDA)

GLS  E/C C/C  77/84 74/80 5676  (BRAZORIA, GALVESTON, CHAMBERS)

39/42

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 17, 2:28 PM CDT, 3 hours 12 minutes before
TXZ176-195>198-210>212-180125-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
228 PM CDT SAT OCT 17 1998

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS
UNTIL 800 PM CDT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR THE
WESTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 800 PM CDT.  THE COUNTIES
INCLUDED IN THIS TORNADO WATCH INCLUDE BRAZOS...BURLESON...
GRIMES...MADISON...WASHINGTON...WALLER...AUSTIN...AND COLORADO.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY CONTINUE TO MOVE
EASTWARD AND APPROACH THE COUNTIES IN THE TORNADO WATCH AREA.
CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP AS THIS
ACTIVITY MOVES TOWARD SOUTHEAST TEXAS...AND SOME OF THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES.

AGAIN...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 800 PM CDT.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER WEAT HER NEWS SOURCES
FOR THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 2:28 PM CDT, 3 hours 12 minutes before
TXZ176-195>198-210>212-180125-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
228 PM CDT SAT OCT 17 1998

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS
UNTIL 800 PM CDT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR THE
WESTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 800 PM CDT.  THE COUNTIES
INCLUDED IN THIS TORNADO WATCH INCLUDE BRAZOS...BURLESON...
GRIMES...MADISON...WASHINGTON...WALLER...AUSTIN...AND COLORADO.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY CONTINUE TO MOVE
EASTWARD AND APPROACH THE COUNTIES IN THE TORNADO WATCH AREA.
CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP AS THIS
ACTIVITY MOVES TOWARD SOUTHEAST TEXAS...AND SOME OF THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES.

AGAIN...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 800 PM CDT.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER WEAT HER NEWS SOURCES
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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 17, 3:43 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXBrazos, Burleson62 min
Oct 17, 4:27 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXBrazos58 min
Oct 17, 5:03 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXGrimes, Madison47 min
Oct 17, 5:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMadison43 min
Oct 17, 6:55 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXWashington60 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.