Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 63, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

November 5, 20024 counties in Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Nov 5, 2002, 1:28 AM CST for 4 counties in 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
Nov 5, 2002, 1:28 AM CST (07:28 UTC)
Expired
Nov 5, 2002, 4:30 AM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Brazoria County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Matagorda County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:31 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

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 217 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 00:00Z on 2002-11-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 2002-11-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 181 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
389 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
181 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
223 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KHGX 050728
FFWHOU
TXC039-071-167-321-051030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
118 AM CST TUE NOV 5 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LEAGUE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CHAMBERS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
  BRAZORIA COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
  GALVESTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
  MATAGORDA COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS

* UNTIL 430 AM CST

* AT 123 AM CST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAINFALL 
SPREADING INLAND OVER THE COASTAL COUNTIES. RAINFALL RATES OF 3/4 TO 
1 1/2 INCHES PER HOUR WILL ACCOMPANY A PERSISTENT BAND OF SHOWERS 
AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM PALACIOS TO LAKE JACKSON TO TEXAS CITY 
TRAINING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. 

* FLOODING IS EXPECTED IN OR NEAR...
  TEXAS CITY... LAKE JACKSON... GALVESTON... SARGENT... ALVIN...     
  SMITH POINT... SARGENT... SAN LUIS PASS... HIGH ISLAND.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO 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 2983 9423 2952 9434 2873 9552 2842 9633
          2875 9629 2934 9532

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 Nov 4, 11:57 PM CST, 1 hour 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 4, 11:57 PM CST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1157 PM CST MON NOV 4 2002

WARM FRONT REMAINS OFF THE TEXAS COAST. BELIEVE THREAT OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS IS MINIMAL ENOUGH TO REMOVE FROM THE ZONE FORECAST.
RAINFALL HAS BEGUN TO DECREASE ACROSS THE NORTHERN COUNTIES WHERE A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1230 AM. THINKING NOW IS
THAT THE GREATEST RAINFALL THREAT IS LIKELY TO BE SOMEWHERE ACROSS
THE COASTAL COUNTIES...ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM WADSWORTH TO
ANGLETON TO WEBSTER TO LIBERTY...WHERE ANOTHER 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN
IS POSSIBLE THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING. DUE TO SUPER-SATURATED
GROUNDS...WILL KEEP THE FLOOD WATCH GOING FOR TONIGHT FOR ALL OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS. ZONE UPDATE WILL BE OUT SHORTLY.

42/45/36/DH
-------------------------------------------------------------------
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
...SIGNIFICANT AND DANGEROUS HEAVY RAIN/FLOODING THREAT STILL IN
PLACE FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING...

MODERATE TO OCCASIONAL HEAVY RAINS CONTINUE TO FALL ACROSS THE
NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS EVENING...PRETTY MUCH
ACROSS THE SAME PLACE THEY HAVE BEEN FALLING ALL DAY LONG. THIS AREA
HAS AVERAGED 3 TO 6 INCHES OF RAIN SO FAR TODAY (COLLEGE STATIONS
DAILY TOTAL AS OF 0140Z STANDS AT 4.31 INCHES). SEVERAL MORE INCHES
(POSSIBLY ANOTHER 2 TO 4) ARE LIKELY BEFORE THIS EVENT COMES TO AN
END LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY TOMORROW MORNING. FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL
HOURS...GREATEST FLOOD THREAT WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THESE NORTHERN
COUNTIES. AS THE EVENING/NIGHT PROGRESSES...THE FLOOD THREAT IS
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP FURTHER TO THE SOUTH AND TOWARD THE COAST WHERE
GROUNDS ARE ALREADY SATURATED. CONVECTION THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPING
BETWEEN SAN ANTONIO AND CORPUS CHRISTI WILL CONTINUE TO TRAIN ACROSS
SOUTHEAST TEXAS AS THE FOCUS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT EDGES FURTHER
TOWARD THE COAST. MOISTURE TAP FROM MEXICO CONTINUES...AND PRECIP
WATER VALUES ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS REMAIN >2 INCHES. SOME CENTRAL
AND COASTAL AREAS COULD SEE ANOTHER 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN THROUGH
TOMORROW MORNING. STILL THINK >8 INCH EVENT TOTALS WILL BE
REACHED...MOST LIKELY ACROSS NORTHERN COUNTIES.

ALSO...TORNADO THREAT ALONG THE COASTAL COUNTIES AND SOME OF THE
FIRST TIER COUNTIES INLAND STILL EXISTS TONIGHT PER SPCS LATEST DAY
1 OUTLOOK. FOCUS WILL LIKELY BE NEAR AND ALONG THE WARM FRONT AS IT
MOVES ONSHORE LATER TONIGHT.

A NUMBER OF OUR CREEKS...BAYOUS AND RIVERS ARE NEAR OR OVER FLOOD
STAGE AT THIS TIME. ANTICIPATED RAINS TONIGHT WILL ONLY ADD TO THIS
ONGOING FLOOD THREAT. FLOOD STATEMENT UPDATES WILL CONTINUE TO BE
ISSUED THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT.

42/45/DH

.HGX...FFA ENTIRE CWA THROUGH TONIGHT.
       SCA BAYS AND HIGH ISLAND TO MATAGORDA 0-60 NM.

UPDATED PRELIMS (ONLY LOWERED TONIGHTS TEMPS)...
CLL TT 050/065 045/068 044 +60
IAH TT 056/067 049/069 046 +80
GLS TT 065/072 057/068 056 +80
Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 4, 5:42 PM CST, 7 hours 46 minutes before
GMZ300-330-335-350-355-370-375-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-
227-235>238-051100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
542 PM CST MON NOV 4 2002

...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

.DAY ONE...
TONIGHT...LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTHEAST
TEXAS...WITH PERIODS OF HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE. A STRONG UPPER
LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL APPROACH SOUTHEAST TEXAS AS A WARM FRONT
LIFTS NORTH ONTO THE UPPER TEXAS COAST. THIS DISTURBANCE WILL
COMBINE WITH THE WARM FRONT AND DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE TO PRODUCE
VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL
AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS THROUGH
EARLY TUESDAY...WITH ISOLATED TOTALS OF 6 TO 8 INCHES POSSIBLE.

HEAVY RAINFALL THAT HAS OCCURRED DURING THE LAST WEEK AND A HALF
OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS HAS RESULTED IN THE GROUND BECOMING SATURATED
WITH MANY RIVERS AND STREAMS ALREADY PAST FLOOD STAGE. ADDITIONAL
HEAVY RAIN WILL LIKELY CREATE FLOODING ACROSS MANY LOCATIONS.

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT OVER THE
COASTAL COUNTIES. THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE ISOLATED
TORNADOES.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE
TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
TUESDAY...HEAVY RAINFALL AND THE THREAT OF FLOODING WILL LIKELY
CONTINUE THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS. RAINFALL WILL END DURING THE
AFTERNOON AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 4, 8:30 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXAustin, Brazos, Burleson, Colorado, Grimes, Houston and 8 more4 hr
Nov 5, 12:31 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXAustin, Brazos, Burleson, Colorado, Grimes, Houston and 8 more4 hr

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.