Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2000

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

May 4, 2000Liberty County, Polk County, San Jacinto County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at May 4, 2000, 1:30 PM CDT for Liberty County, Polk County, San Jacinto County, Texas. It was in force for 5 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties.

The facts

Issued
May 4, 2000, 1:30 PM CDT (18:30 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 2000, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Liberty County, TX, Polk County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:30 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

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 176 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 2000-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1094 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2000-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 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
1094 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
606 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KHGX 041829
FFWHGX
TXC291-373-407-042300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
130 PM CDT THU MAY 4 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SAN JACINTO COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
  POLK COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
  LIBERTY COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS

* UNTIL 600 PM CDT

* AT 110 PM CDT...THE SAN JACINTO COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED 2 FEET OF
  WATER ON US HIGHWAY 59 NEAR SHEPHERD. AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO 4 INCHES
  OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE BY 4 PM.

* FLOODING IS EXPECTED IN OR NEAR...
  AMES...CLEVELAND...COLDSPRING...CORRIGAN...SHEPHERD...LIVINGSTON
  CORRIGAN...RYE...LIBERTY...DAYTON

FLASH FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING IN SMALL CREEKS...STREAMS...
BAYOUS AND ADJACENT FARMLAND.

DO NOT CROSS ANY LOCATION WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD!

PLEASE REPORT FLOODING TO THE COUNTY SHERIFF...LOCAL POLICE...OR
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

LAT...LON 3108 9475 2998 9449 2995 9496 3042 9520
          3048 9535 3082 9524

&

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 May 4, 9:45 AM CDT, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 4, 9:45 AM CDT, 3 hours 45 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
945 AM CDT THU MAY 4 2000

SHORT UPDATE DUE TO IMPENDING HEAVY WEATHER. WILL ISSUE FLASH FLOOD
WATCH FOR LOCATIONS ALONG/NORTH OF I-10. MANY OF THE CLASSIC FACTORS
ARE IN PLACE SUCH AS WEAK MID LEVEL FLOW...STATIONARY BOUNDARY...
AMPLE MOIST AIR...AND ALREADY SATURATED GROUND. IN ADDITION...THE
SEA BREEZE APPEARS TO BE ACTIVE AGAIN TODAY OVER THE SRN ZONES...IT
COULD COLLIDE WITH OUTFLOW FROM THE LINE OF STORMS TO THE NORTH AND
REALLY SQUEEZE OUT SOME HEAVY AMOUNTS IN METRO HOUSTON.

WILL ALSO MAKE CHANGES TO TEMPS/WINDS/CLOUDS REFLECTING EXPECTED
CONVECTIVE COVERAGE (E.G. COOLER WHERE IT IS LIKELY TO RAIN ALL
DAY).

.KHGX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH ALONG/NORTH OF I-10.

31/47

UPDATED PRELIMS...
CLL TE 080/068 087/068 087 +34
IAH TE 085/070 087/070 087 733
GLS EB 081/072 081/072 081 422

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 4, 11:35 AM CDT, 1 hour 55 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>237-050000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1135 AM CDT THU MAY 4 2000

...MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAIN THIS
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT ALONG AND NORTH OF A BRENHAM...
CONROE...LIVINGSTON LINE THROUGH 7 PM...

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAIN ACROSS
SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. THE PRIMARY SEVERE
WEATHER RISKS ARE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND. THE PRIMARY THREAT
TIME IS FROM NOON THROUGH 7 PM. HEAVY RAIN IS MOST LIKELY ALONG AND
NORTH OF STATE HIGHWAY 105.

A SLOW MOVING UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM...STATIONARY FRONT...AND MOIST GULF
AIR WILL COMBINE TO PRODUCE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS
SOUTHEAST TEXAS TODAY. WIND SHEAR IS SUFFICIENT FOR SOME OF THE
STORMS TO BECOME SEVERE AND PRODUCE LARGE HAIL OR DAMAGING WINDS.

MID-LEVEL WINDS APPEAR TO FAVOR STORMS THAT MOVE SLOWLY AND OVER THE
SAME LOCATIONS...WHICH WILL RESULT IN HEAVY RAIN. EXPECT AVERAGE
RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES NORTH OF STATE HIGHWAY 105...WITH
SOME LOCATIONS RECEIVING UP TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN BY EARLY EVENING.
EXPECT AVERAGE RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1/2 TO 1 INCH FOR METRO HOUSTON...
WITH SOME SPOTS RECEIVING UP TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL MEDIA TODAY FOR THE
LATEST FORECASTS...UPDATES...AND POSSIBLE WATCHES OR WARNINGS.

31/JWZ

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 1:03 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston42 min
May 4, 1:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXLiberty37 min
May 4, 1:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXSan Jacinto65 min
May 4, 1:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXMontgomery52 min
May 4, 1:44 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXLiberty46 min
May 4, 2:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXGrimes52 min
May 4, 2:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris, Liberty51 min
May 4, 3:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXGrimes45 min
May 4, 3:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXBurleson, Washington60 min
May 4, 3:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris53 min
May 4, 3:50 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXBrazos, Grimes, Montgomery, Washington3 hr
May 4, 4:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWashington62 min
May 4, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHarris45 min
May 4, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXAustin, Waller60 min
May 4, 4:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston48 min
May 4, 5:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXColorado63 min
May 4, 5:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXAustin43 min
May 4, 5:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers, Harris42 min
May 4, 5:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXLiberty24 min
May 4, 5:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXWaller50 min
May 4, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXChambers45 min
May 4, 6:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXColorado55 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 2000Every flash flood warning in 2000

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.