Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 62, NWS Brownsville, TX

October 14, 2003Cameron County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this flash flood warning at Oct 14, 2003, 12:04 PM CDT for Cameron 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
Oct 14, 2003, 12:04 PM CDT (17:04 UTC)
Expired
Oct 14, 2003, 3:00 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cameron County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 27 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:55 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 5.1 hours before the alert went out and 30 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-10-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2207 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-10-14The 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
2207 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
590 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 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 KBRO 141707
FFWBRO
TXC061-142000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
1204 PM CDT TUE OCT 14 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CAMERON COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 300 PM CDT

* AT NOON CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE WARNED AREA.     
  DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATED NEAR AN 1 INCH PER HOUR OVER PARTS OF      
  CAMERON COUNTY...ESPECIALLY NEAR SOUTH PADRE ISLAND.  

* SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IN THE
  WARNED AREA. RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH
  FLOODING TO OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING
  INCLUDE...PORT ISABEL...SAN BENITO...LA FERIA...HARLINGEN...
  BROWNSVILLE...SOUTH PADRE ISLAND...SANTA ROSA...RIO HONDO...RANCHO
  VIEJO...LOS FRESNOS...LAGUNA VISTA AND LAGUNA HEIGHTS.

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE 
WARNED AREA.

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.

TO REPORT FLOODING...HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY RELAY
YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN
BROWNSVILLE.

LAT...LON 2631 9782 2606 9785 2570 9712 2625 9720

$$
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS74 KBRO 141807
FFSBRO
TXC061-141900-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
100 PM CDT TUE OCT 14 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR CAMERON COUNTY UNTIL 3 
PM...

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS UNTIL 
9 PM...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED SHOWERS AND 
THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH OVER
SOUTHERN CAMERON COUNTY.  THE HEAVIEST THUNDERSTORMS ARE LOCATED 
BETWEEN BAYVIEW AND RANCHO VIEJO IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.  THESE SHOWERS 
WITH A FEW EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WERE GENERATING RAINFALL RATES OF 
BETWEEN 1 AND 1 1/2 INCHES OF RAINFALL PER HOUR.  

REMEMBER...RUNOFF FROM THE EXCESSIVE RAINFALL THAT HAS ALREADY 
FALLEN WILL CAUSE FLOODING TO OCCUR...ESPECIALLY ALONG SMALL STREAMS 
AND NEAR LOW WATER CROSSINGS. DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES VERY HIGH 
RAINFALL TOTALS HAVE ALREADY BEEN RECEIVED IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY 
FROM HEAVY RAINS YESTERDAY.

MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS 
BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. 
NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT. TO 
ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

$$

65
000 
WGUS74 KBRO 141911
FFSBRO
TXC061-142000-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT...CORRECTED HEADER
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
210 PM CDT TUE OCT 14 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR CAMERON COUNTY UNTIL 3 
PM...

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS UNTIL 
9 PM...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED VERY HEAVY SHOWERS AND 
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH OVER SOUTHEASTERN 
CAMERON COUNTY. THE HEAVIEST THUNDERSTORMS ARE LOCATED NEAR 
BROWNSVILLE AND THE RIO GRANDE EASTWARD TO BOCA CHICA BEACH IN DEEP 
SOUTH TEXAS. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE GENERATING RAINFALL 
BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL PER HOUR. THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL 
IS EXPECTED TO MOVE SOUTHWARD INTO MEXICO DURING THE NEXT HOUR. 
HOWEVER SOME LIGHTER RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER 
SOUTHEASTERN CAMERON COUNTY THROUGH 3 PM.  

REMEMBER...RUNOFF FROM THE EXCESSIVE RAINFALL THAT HAS ALREADY 
FALLEN WILL CAUSE FLOODING TO OCCUR...ESPECIALLY ALONG SMALL STREAMS 
AND NEAR LOW WATER CROSSINGS. DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES VERY HIGH 
RAINFALL TOTALS HAVE ALREADY BEEN RECEIVED IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY 
FROM HEAVY RAINS YESTERDAY.

MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS 
BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. 
NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT. TO 
ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

$$

62

The office that day

Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 14, 4:43 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBROCameron107 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 2003Every flash flood warning in 2003

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.