Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 265, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

December 4, 20025 counties in Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this flash flood warning at Dec 4, 2002, 3:56 AM CST for 5 counties in Texas. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Dec 4, 2002, 3:56 AM CST (09:56 UTC)
Expired
Dec 4, 2002, 6:00 AM CST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Bastrop County, TX, Caldwell County, TX, Fayette County, TX, Guadalupe County, TX, Lee County, TX

The radar

The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:00 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 00:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 232 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-12-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 724 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-12-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 143 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
724 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-143 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
708 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
143 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
223 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KEWX 040956
FFWSAT
TXC021-055-149-187-287-041200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
350 AM CST WED DEC 4 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
  LEE
  BASTROP
  FAYETTE
  CALDWELL
  GUADALUPE

* UNTIL 600 AM CST

* AT 350 AM...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAIN
  LOCKHART TO BASTROP TO LINCOLN...AND FROM CISTERN TO ROUND TOP...
  AND APPROACHING SEGUIN AND MARION.  RAINFALL RATES OF ONE TO ONE 
  AND ONE HALF INCHES PER HOUR WERE ESTIMATED.  

RAINFALL WILL MOVING OVER THE SAME AREAS THAT HAVE RECEIVED RAINFALL 
SINCE AROUND MIDNIGHT.  THE SOILS ARE BECOMING SATURATED AND RUNOFF 
WILL BECOME RAPID.   SOME ISOLATED TOTALS ARE AROUND THREE INCHES.
 
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE 
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT
QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY
AUTOMOBILE. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS, ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK
HIGHER GROUND.

LAT...LON 2960 9820 2943 9800 2981 9733 2967 9690
          3001 9664 3059 9700

$$
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS74 KEWX 041212
FFSSAT
TXC021-055-149-187-287-041345-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
612 AM CST WED DEC 4 2002

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR LEE...BASTROP...FAYETTE...CALDWELL AND
GUADALUPE COUNTIES HAS EXPIRED...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THE RAINFALL HAD DECREASED 
IN INTENSITY AND THE FLOOD THREAT WAS DIMINISHING.  SOME MINOR 
FLOODING MAY CONTINUE...BUT THE THREAT OF SERIOUS FLOODING HAS ENDED 
AND THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS EXPIRED.

FM 535 NEAR ROSANKY IN BASTROP COUNTY AND FM 696 WEST OF LEXINGTON 
IN LEE COUNTY BRIEFLY HAD SOME WATER OVER THE ROAD...HOWEVER WERE 
NOT CLOSED.  OTHERWISE...NO FLOODING WAS REPORTED BY SHERIFFS 
OFFICES IN THE PREVIOUSLY WARNED COUNTIES.   

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. MOVE TO
HIGHER GROUND. 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 Dec 4, 3:30 AM CST, 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 4, 3:30 AM CST, 26 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
330 AM CST WED DEC 4 2002

SKIES WILL CLEAR FROM WEST TO EAST TODAY AS DRIER AIR MIXES DOWN.
SURFACE HIGH CENTERED OVER THE TEXAS PANHANDLE WILL MOVE SOUTHWARD
TODAY.  THE CENTER OF THE SURFACE HIGH WILL BE LOCATED OVER THE HILL
COUNTRY TONIGHT SETTING UP THE CWFA FOR A FREEZE.  CLEAR
SKIES...LIGHT WINDS AND LOW DEWPOINTS WILL ALLOW FOR GOOD
RADIATIONAL COOLING OVERNIGHT.  A FREEZE WILL OCCUR OVER MUCH OF
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS WITH A HARD FREEZE FOR THE HILL COUNTRY.  A
FREEZE WARNING WILL BE ISSUED FOR THOSE COUNTIES OF SOUTH CENTRAL
TEXAS THAT HAVE YET TO EXPERIENCE THEIR FIRST FREEZE OF THE SEASON.

AFTER A COLD FRIDAY MORNING A WARMING TREND WILL ENSUE FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY.  PATCHY FOG AND DRIZZLE MAY OCCUR LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO
SUNDAY MORNING FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL COUNTIES AS BOUNDARY LAYER
WINDS BECOME SOUTHERLY.  THIS WILL ADVECT GULF MOISTURE NORTHWARD
IN ADVANCE OF THE NEXT UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE.  THIS DISTURBANCE
WILL TRIGGER SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE
SUNDAY/MONDAY TIME FRAME AS ANOTHER COLD FRONT MOVE ACROSS THE
CWFA.

THANKS TO CRP FOR COORD THE FREEZE WARNING.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
AUS 050/028 056/033 060 00000
DRT 058/033 062/038 064 00000
SAT 052/031 058/036 062 00000

.EWX...FREEZE WARNING TONIGHT FOR MUCH OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.

13/04
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 3, 6:00 AM CST, 21 hours 56 minutes before
TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-041200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
600 AM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY
THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND EARLY TONIGHT MAINLY EAST OF A LINE FROM JARRELL TO CASTROVILLE
AND KENEDY.  THE PRIMARY THREATS ARE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO POSSIBLE THIS EVENING AND EARLY
TONIGHT AS A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT MOVES SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE HILL
COUNTRY AND SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY
TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 3, 11:15 PM CST, 4 hours 41 minutes before
TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-030600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1115 PM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 200 AM CST FOR PORTIONS
OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ISSUED EARLIER FOR SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

BASTROP...LEE...CALDWELL AND FAYETTE COUNTIES.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 35...

BURNET...BLANCO...HAYS...GILLESPIE...LLANO...TRAVIS...WILLIAMSON...
AND KENDALL COUNTIES.

A COLD FRONT MOVING EAST OUT OF THE HILL COUNTRY WILL FOCUS THE
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THREAT OVER THE COUNTIES REMAINING IN THE WATCH
AREA.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 3, 8:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXGillespie44 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.