Flash Flood, Travis
- When
- December 20, 8:45 PM CST
- Where
- Travis County, Countywide
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 30.335, -97.782 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Texas, December 20, 1997
General 2 inch rainfall with isolated totals to nearly 5 inches caused brief flash flooding over the western part of Travis County, as reported by the Austin Fire Department. Nearly 3 inches of the rainfall came in less than 3 hours.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS EWX wrote it up.
General 2 inch rainfall with isolated totals to nearly 5 inches caused brief flash flooding over the western part of Travis County, as reported by the Austin Fire Department. Nearly 3 inches of the rainfall came in less than 3 hours. A 45-year old man was found drowned in Waller Creek near 2300CST, near the confluence with Town Lake. He was believed to be a transient in the area and the circumstances surrounding his death were not clear.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Travis | 1997-12-20 | 45 | Male | Other | Direct |
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 20, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
- Heavy Rain in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, December 20, 1997
- Ice Storm in Oklahoma, December 20 to 21, 1997
- Ice Storm and Heavy Snow in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 20, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
More
Every storm in Texas in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, December 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5620119.