Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 197, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

September 7, 2002Bexar County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this flash flood warning at Sep 7, 2002, 11:09 AM CDT for Bexar County, Texas. It was in force for 111 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 7, 2002, 11:09 AM CDT (16:09 UTC)
Expired
Sep 7, 2002, 1:00 PM CDT
In force
111 min
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Bexar County, TX

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

Del Rio, TX (KDRT), launched 12:00Z, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 219 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, Del Rio, TX at 12:00Z on 2002-09-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 257 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, Del Rio, TX at 12:00Z on 2002-09-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 25 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
257 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1332 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
55 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 KEWX 071609
FFWSAT
TXC029-071800-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1105 AM CDT SAT SEP 7 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
  BEXAR

* UNTIL 100 PM CDT

* AT 1105 AM...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
  RAIN CONTINUING ACROSS SAN ANTONIO AND BEXAR COUNTY.  MOVEMENT
  IS WEST  AT 15 TO 20 MPH.  RAINFALL RATES ARE ESTIMATED AT 1 TO
  2 INCHES AN HOUR ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN BEXAR COUNTY.  PARTS
  OF THE COUNTY HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED 2 TO 3 INCHES...BASED ON
  DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES. 

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.


LAT...LON 2931 9878 2916 9842 2946 9816 2971 9877
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS74 KEWX 071803
FFSSAT
TXC029-071900-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
102 PM CDT SAT SEP 7 2002

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR BEXAR COUNTY HAS EXPIRED...
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THE HEAVY RAINFALL WAS 
MOVING WESTWARD AND ENDING ACROSS BEXAR COUNTY.  LIGHT RAIN WILL 
CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 30 MINUTES TO AN HOUR BUT THE FLOOD THREAT HAS 
DIMINISHED. SOME MINOR FLOODING MAY CONTINUE...BUT THE THREAT OF 
SERIOUS FLOODING HAS ENDED AND THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS EXPIRED.

STAY TUNED TO LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

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 Austin/San Antonio, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Sep 7, 2:45 AM CDT, 8 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 7, 2:45 AM CDT, 8 hours 24 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
245 AM CDT SEP SEP 7 2002

ANALYSIS...
ITS STILL ALL ABOUT FAY. IN THE PAST 24HRS...FAYS LOW LEVEL CENTER
HAS DRIFTED WWD...AS NOTED BY THE SHIFT OF BUOY19 WINDS FROM NE TO
SW...AND GREATEST LOW LEVEL PRESSURE FALLS IN THE SWRN GULF. ALSO...
FAY HAS MOVED FROM UNDER THE H2 ANTICYCLONE AND CLOSER TO THE UPPER
CYCLONIC SHEAR ALONG THE TX COAST. THIS COULD HALT FURTHER DEEPENING
AND LOWER CHANCES OF A CORE RAIN SAT NITE. FAYS NWWD TRACK HAS BEEN
SLOWED BY A STRONG MID LEVEL RIDGE OVER CENTRAL TX. STILL...PRECIP
HAS BEGUN AND FAYS RAIN SHIELD IS SPREADING NWD INTO OUR SERN CWA.

THE MODELS...
AVN AND ETA DRIVE FAY WNWWD THRU TONITE...THEN STALL IT OVER SC TX
SUN INTO TUE...WITH THE AVN A BIT FASTER ON SPEED THAN THE ETA. AS
WITH THE FRI RUNS...THE DEEPEST MOISTURE AND HEAVIEST RAIN REMAIN TO
THE N AND E OF FAYS TRACK...AS IS THE CASE CURRENTLY.

FORECAST TODAY...
INCREASING RAIN CHANCES ALL AREAS TODAY. POPS ARE HIGHEST OVER THE
COASTAL PLAINS...DECREASING WWD. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL CONTINUE
ALONG AND EAST OF I35 THRU TODAY...AND WILL LIKELY BE EXPANDED IN
TIME AND AREA LATER THIS AFTN. EVEN WITHOUT A CORE RAIN...WE COULD
EASILY SEE 6 TO 8 INCH TOTALS FROM THE TROPICAL DOWNPOURS. HIGHS
TODAY WILL RANGE FROM 80S EAST TO 90S WEST.

FORECAST FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY...
A CONTINUED THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN INTO MON...AREAWIDE. ANOTHER 6 TO 8
INCHES OF RAIN ARE POSSIBLE...WITH THE LOCATIONS DEPENDING ON FAYS
TRACK. RAIN AND CLOUDS WILL HOLD TEMPS IN THE 80S.

FORECAST FOR TUESDAY...
RAIN CHANCES LOWER SLOWLY...WITH CLOUDS DECREASING AS WELL. HIGHS AT
MOST LOCATIONS BACK NEAR 90 BY WED...IN THE 90S THU. LOWS IN THE 70S.

PRELIMS...
AUS  088/070 086/069 086 87856
DRT  092/072 088/070 088 23443
SAT  088/072 087/070 086 87856

.EWX...FF WATCH ALONG AND EAST OF I35 THRU TODAY.

09/02/DC

The office that day

Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 6, 7:10 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXGonzales35 min
Sep 7, 1:24 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXMedina3 hr
Sep 7, 2:44 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXBandera3 hr
Sep 7, 4:10 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXMedina, Uvalde3 hr
Sep 7, 5:47 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXBandera118 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 2002Every 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.