Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003
Flash Flood Warning 7, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this flash flood warning at Mar 13, 2003, 12:38 PM CST for Chambers County, 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
- Mar 13, 2003, 12:38 PM CST (18:38 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 13, 2003, 2:45 PM CST
- In force
- 2 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Chambers County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:40 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 12:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 137 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2612 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 463 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 88 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 127 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.1
- Supercell composite
- 6.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WGUS54 KHGX 131845 FFWHOU TXC071-132045- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1238 PM CST THU MAR 13 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LEAGUE CITY HAS ISSUED A * FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... CHAMBERS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS * UNTIL 245 PM CST * AT 1230 PM CST...DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ALONG THE INTERSTATE 10 CORRIDOR. RADAR ESTIMATES LOCATIONS BETWEEN MONT BELVIEU AND WALLISVILLE HAVE RECEIVED NEARLY 4 INCHES OF RAIN IN THE PAST 1 1/2 HOURS. CHAMBERS COUNTY SHERIFF RELAYED REPORTS OF STREET FLOODING ALONG PORTIONS OF HIGHWAY 146 AS WELL AS THE UNDERPASS OF FM 565 AND INTERSTATE 10. WITH RAINFALL RATES STILL BETWEEN 2 AND 3 INCHES PER HOUR...FLOODING WILL CONTINUE FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO. * FLOODING IS EXPECTED IN OR NEAR... WINNIE...STOWELL...MONT BELVIEU...BEACH CITY...WALLISVILLE INTERSTATE 10 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 2989 9435 2968 9437 2968 9488 2987 9493 $$
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 Mar 13, 9:10 AM CST, 3 hours 28 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 9:10 AM CST, 3 hours 28 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
910 AM CST THU MAR 13 2003
SURROUNDING SOUNDINGS INDICATE HIGHLY UNSTABLE AIR MASS OVER REGION
...MOIST TO ABOUT 700 MB AND QUITE DRIER ABOVE. TOTAL TOTALS AT 61
AND CAPE NEAR 3600 J/KB. UPDATED 1ST PERIOD OF ZFPHGX TO REFLECT
CURRENT TRENDS INCLUDING SPC ISSUANCE OF SVR TSTM WATCH NUMBER 38.
EXPECT LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN FROM SLOWER MOVING STORMS. HAVE ADJUSTED MAX
TEMPS SLIGHTLY DOWNWARD.
.HGX...NPW FOR DENSE FOG ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM LIVINGSTON TO
CONROE TO BELLVILLE THRU 10 AM.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS TIL 2
AM.
CLL TB 079/059 077/054 078 531
IAH TB 079/060 077/055 078 631
GLS TB 074/064 072/061 073 642
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
QUITE A RANGE OF CEILING HEIGHTS AND VSBYS TONIGHT ACROSS SE TX. DENSE
FOG IS GENERALLY CONFINED TO THE COASTAL COUNTIES WITH LIGHT FOG
INLAND. HOWEVER DWH JUST REPORTED DENSE FOG. THEREFORE WILL GO AHEAD
AND LEAVE CURRENT ADVISORY AS IS AND CANCEL LATER THIS MORNING FOR
PORTIONS OF THE AREA IF DENSE FOG DOES NOT DEVELOP FURTHER INLAND.
MAIN FORECAST ISSUE IS THE CHC OF SVR TSTMS TODAY AND EARLY THIS
EVENING. APPEARS THAT ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS ARE COMING TOGETHER FOR
A THREAT OF SVR TSTMS AREAWIDE. CONVECTION CURRENTLY ALONG THE RED
RIVER WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH S-SE AND WILL LIKELY AT LEAST PROVIDE A
BOUNDARY FOR CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT ACROSS SE TX IN A VERY MOIST AND
UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. IN FACT...AM CONCERNED THAT IT WILL HOLD TOGETHER
AND MOVE INTO NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SE TX LATER THIS MORNING. LIS
ARE LIKELY TO BE IN THE -6 TO -9 RANGE LATER TODAY AS MID-LEVELS
COOL WITH MID-UPPER LEVEL TROF AMPLIFYING AND EXTENDING BACK INTO SE
TX. FLOW AT THE MID-LEVELS WILL BECOME MORE NORTHERLY DURING THE DAY
WHICH WILL AID IN A SOUTHWARD PROPAGATION DURING THE
AFTERNOON...WHICH MEANS ENTIRE AREA WILL BE UNDER THE GUN TODAY. SE
TX WILL BE IN THE LF QUAD OF AN UPPER LEVEL JET MAX WHICH WILL
PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL DIVERGENCE ALOFT. MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW
MID-LEVEL DRY AIR WHICH WILL ENHANCE CONVECTIVE DOWNDRAFTS.
THEREFORE...AGREE WITH SPC SLIGHT RISK OUTLOOK. BELIEVE THE THREAT
WILL EXTEND INTO THE EARLY EVE HOURS...ESPECIALLY FOR SOUTHERN
ZONES...SO WILL HAVE HIGHEST 2ND PD POPS THERE. MAIN THREATS WILL BE
HAIL AND STRONG WIND GUSTS.
WILL HAVE HIGHEST POPS ACROSS EASTERN ZONES WHERE SLIGHTLY DEEPER
MOISTURE AND BETTER LIFT WILL BE PRESENT. POPS HAVE BEEN TRENDED
CLOSE TO MESO-ETA MODEL. BELIEVE WITH PW VALUES REACHING CLOSE TO
1.5 INCHES...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS A THREAT. WILL PROBABLY
ADDRESS THIS IN THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK AND LEAVE OUT OF ZONES
AS PRIMARY THREAT APPEARS TO BE SVR TSTMS. WILL KEEP A 20 PERCENT
CHC ALONG THE COAST ON FRIDAY...WHERE MOISTURE LEVELS WILL STILL BE
DEEP ENOUGH FOR PRECIP DEVELOPMENT...FURTHER INLAND WILL DROP POPS.
BELIEVE ATMOSPHERE WILL GRADUALLY DRY LATER TONIGHT AND THROUGH
FRIDAY IN THE WAKE OF THE TROUGH AND NE SFC FLOW. THEREFORE WILL
DROP POPS THIS WEEKEND ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA. THERE MAY BE A FEW
SHOWERS ACROSS WESTERN AREAS SUN AFT.
MODELS STILL SHOW A SIGNIFICANT STORM SYSTEM AFFECTING SE TX MON AND
TUE AS AN IMPRESSIVE TROUGH MOVES FROM THE WEST COAST TO THE CENTRAL
U.S. WILL KEEP CHC POPS FOR THESE DAYS.
33/46Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 13, 7:00 AM CST, 5 hours 38 minutes before
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-141300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 700 AM CST THU MAR 13 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS. ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE TODAY AND THIS EVENING ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS... .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A DENSE FOG ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM FOR AREAS GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM LIVINGSTON TO CONROE TO BELLVILLE. A VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE IS IN PLACE OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS TODAY. AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND BOUNDARY FROM THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS MORNING WILL TRIGGER THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER THE AREA TODAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE DUE TO THE VERY COLD TEMPERATURES AND DRY AIR IN THE MIDDLE LAYER OF THE ATMOSPHERE. THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE A THREAT DUE TO SLOW MOVING STORMS AND VERY HIGH MOISTURE LEVELS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO AVERAGE A HALF TO ONE INCH ACROSS THE AREA WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF THREE INCHES POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER TODAY.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 11:12 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Chambers | 48 min |
| Mar 13, 11:59 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Chambers | 61 min |
| Mar 13, 3:36 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 54 min |
| Mar 13, 4:31 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Montgomery | 59 min |
| Mar 13, 4:35 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris | 40 min |
| Mar 13, 4:43 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Waller | 47 min |
| Mar 13, 5:30 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris | 60 min |
| Mar 13, 5:31 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris | 59 min |
| Mar 13, 5:40 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Austin, Waller | 65 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.