Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997

Name: Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
Start: 1997-12-20T21:30
End: 1997-12-21T03:00
Location: Texas

December 20 to 21, 1997 · NWS FWD · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

3 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Navarro

When: December 20, 9:30 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
Where: Navarro County, Corsicana
Coordinates: 32.047, -96.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Numerous roads across the county were flooded.

Flash Flood, Grayson

When: December 20, 9:31 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
Where: Grayson County, 4 mi W of Howe
Coordinates: 33.627, -96.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Highway 289 was flooded at the intersection of Highway 902.

Flash Flood, Grayson

When: December 20, 11:00 PM CST to December 21, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Grayson County, Sherman
Coordinates: 33.627, -96.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several roads across the county were flooded.

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

Every storm in Texas in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5627030, 5627031, 5627032.