Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

May 17, 2002Houston County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at May 17, 2002, 12:24 PM CDT for Houston 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 17, 2002, 12:24 PM CDT (17:24 UTC)
Expired: May 17, 2002, 3:15 PM CDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Houston County, TX

The radar

The Shreveport radar (KSHV), 192 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:23 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

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 12:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 201 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: 1700 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 634 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 53 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 114 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 KHGX 171724
FFWHOU
TXC225-172015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1222 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  HOUSTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS

* UNTIL 315 PM CDT

* AT 1218 PM CDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED NUMEROUS STREET FLOODING 
IN CROCKETT. RADAR INDICATED NUMEROUS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM 
KENARD TO LOVELADY TO AUSTONIO. MOVEMENT WAS SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. 

* FLOODING IS EXPECTED IN OR NEAR...
  AUSTONIO...GRAPELAND...CROCKETT


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 3160 9531 3143 9514 3125 9535 3109 9570
          3134 9565 3149 9573

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 17, 10:42 AM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 17, 10:42 AM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before

SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION ...UPDATED PRELIMS...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1042 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

WHILE THE INITIAL LINE/BOW ECHO HAS MOVED OFF TO THE EAST THERE IS
STILL SOME PATCHY TS/SHRA LINGERING OVER SE TX ATTM. HOWEVER...THE
DEVELOPMENT OF STRONGER STORMS TO OUR SOUTHWEST IS CONTINUING THIS
MORNING. WE SHALL SEE IF THIS CONVECTION WILL HOLD UP AS IT MOVES
INTO THE ALREADY WORKED OVER AIRMASS OF OUR SOUTHERN FA. THE MAIN
FORECAST CONCERN IS FOR LATER IN THE DAY (MAINLY TONIGHT) AND THE
NEXT LARGE SWATH OF PCPN ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT CURRENTLY OVER
NORTH TEXAS. IF THE CLOUDS DO LINGER AS THIS CURRENT SYSTEM MOVES
OUT SLOWLY THE ATMOSPHERE MAY NOT HAVE TOO MUCH TIME TO RE-CHARGE
ITSELF BEFORE THAT NEXT SYSTEM MOVES IN. FOR NOW...WILL ONLY MAKE
SOME MINOR TWEAKS TO FIRST PERIOD POPS/CLOUDS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE
CURRENT TRENDS. OTHERWISE WILL HOLD OFF ON ANY WHOLESALE CHANGES
TO THE LATER PERIODS UNTIL WE GET A CHANCE TO PERSUSE THE INCOM-
ING MODEL DATA A LITTLE BETTER. 41/45

.HGX...SCEC 20-60 NM HIGH ISLAND TO THE MATAGORDA SHIP CHANNEL.

UPDATED PRELIMS...
CLL TB 085/061 078/049 079 471
IAH EB 080/064 077/052 080 672
GLS EB 080/071 077/061 078 673

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 17, 5:46 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		44 min
May 17, 6:33 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		117 min
May 17, 6:56 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	HGX	Brazoria, Galveston, Harris	4 hr
May 17, 8:03 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		117 min
May 17, 3:26 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		2 hr
May 17, 4:30 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	HGX		2 hr
May 17, 4:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Jackson	31 min

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.