Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 70, NWS Corpus Christi, TX

September 17, 2002Nueces County, Texas

NWS Corpus Christi, TX issued this flash flood warning at Sep 17, 2002, 6:32 PM CDT for Nueces 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Sep 17, 2002, 6:32 PM CDT (23:32 UTC)
Expired: Sep 17, 2002, 8:30 PM CDT
In force: 118 min
Issued by: NWS Corpus Christi, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Nueces County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 21 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:36 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this flash flood warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 36 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1660 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 554 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -21 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 
WGUS54 KCRP 172332
FFWCRP
TXC355-180130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
630 PM CDT TUE SEP 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CORPUS CHRISTI HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NUECES COUNTY IN TEXAS

* UNTIL 830 PM CDT

* AT 625 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A SLOW MOVING AREA OF SHOWERS 
AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER NUECES COUNTY...ALONG A 
LINE FROM BISHOP TO PETRONILA TO DOWNTOWN CORPUS CHRSITI. ADDITIONAL 
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR ARE POSSIBLE...OVER 
ALREADY SATURATED GROUNDS. 

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE PETRONILA AND OSO CREEKS 
TO RISE. THESE CREEKS ARE ALREADY EXPERIENCING MAJOR FLOODING AT 
THIS TIME.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT 
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS 
THE ROADWAY.

LAT...LON 2774 9794 2756 9783 2756 9771 2775 9725
          2787 9758

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS74 KCRP 180046
FFSCRP
TXC355-180130-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
745 PM CDT TUE SEP 17 2002

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR NUECES COUNTY HAS BEEN CANCELLED...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THE RAINFALL WAS ENDING 
ACROSS THE WARNED AREA. DOPPLER RAINFALL ESTIMATES SHOWS 2 TO 3 
INCHES FELL ACROSS NUECES COUNTY ALONG A LINE FROM BISHOP TO 
PETRONILA TO DOWNTOWN CORPUS CHRISTI. 

ALTHOUGH THE RAIN HAS ENDED...STANDING WATER ON FARM FIELDS AND LOW 
ROADWAYS WILL REMAIN A PROBLEM. AREA CREEKS...ESPECIALLY PETRONILA 
AND OSO CREEKS WILL REMAIN IN MAJOR FLOOD AS WATER FROM THE MOST 
RECENT RAINS DRAINS INTO THE ALREADY SWOLLEN CREEKS.   

MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT WHEN TRAVELLING THROUGH AREAS THAT 
RECEIVED HEAVY RAIN.

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 Corpus Christi, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Sep 17, 3:00 PM CDT, 3 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 17, 3:00 PM CDT, 3 hours 32 minutes before

COASTAL BEND FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
300 PM CDT TUE SEP 17 2002

SURFACE TROUGH ALONG THE COAST WEAKENED DURING THE DAY.  MID LEVEL
SHORTWAVE THAT MOVED INTO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY THIS MORNING
HELPED TO CLEAR A GREAT DEAL OF THE MID AN UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE.
LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE PRODUCED A DECENT CU FIELD OVER SOUTH
TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON.

DISCUSSION: RUC HAS A GOOD HANDLE ON THINGS THIS AFTERNOON.  ANOTHER
WEAK SHORT WAVE IS PROGGED TO CROSS THE AREA BETWEEN 19 AND 01 Z.
WILL INITIALLY CARRY A SLIGHT CHANCE POPS TONIGHT IN THE EAST. SHORT
RANGE MODELS AGREE...PWATS ALONG THE COAST FINALLY FALL BELOW 2 IN
AFTER MIDNIGHT. WILL NOT CARRY POPS FOR WEDNESDAY AND ISOLATED
WEDNEDAY NIGHT. BY THURSDAY MORNING...TROUGH IN THE PLAINS DIG
FURTHER SOUTH AND HELPS TO USHER A COLD FRONT INTO THE AREA.  A
PREFRONTAL TROUGH SHOULD MOVE THROUGH DURING THE EVENING WITH THE
FRONT PUSHING IN LATE THURSDAY NIGHT/EARLY FRIDAY.  EXPECT ENOUGH
MOISTURE AND LIFT FOR A SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG
THE PREFRONTAL TROUGH.  MODELS AGREE IN SWEEPING THE MOISTURE OUT
ONCE THE TROUGH MOVES EAST...ALLOWING DRIER NORTHERLY AIR TO FILTER
IN.

EXTENDED: ONCE THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH WILL GO WITH A DRY FORECAST
FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE EXTENDED.  SKIES WILL BE PARTLY CLOUDY WITH
NEAR NORMAL TEMPS.

MARINE...A WEAK TO MODERATE SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL PREVAIL THROUGH
WEDNESDAY NIGHT.  SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE BY LATE
WEDNESDAY NIGHT/EARLY THURSDAY MORNING IN RESPONSE TO STRENGTHENING
LOW LEVEL JET AHEAD OF NEXT FRONT. WINDS WILL REACH CAUTION LEVEL ON
THURSDAY. FRONT SHOULD PUSH THROUGH WATERS ON FRIDAY...WITH A
MODERATE NORTH TO NORTHEAST FLOW IN ITS WAKE. SPEEDS OF 15 TO 20
KNOTS WILL BE COMMON THROUGH SUNDAY. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY WITH
THIS SYSTEM.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS:

CRP EB 076/090 078/090 074 20044
VCT EB 075/090 076/088 071 20144
LRD EB 077/095 078/092 076 00044

.CRP...NONE.

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 2002 Every flash flood warning in 2002

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.