Name: Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, May 19, 1997
Start: 1997-05-19T19:50
End: 1997-05-19T23:30
Location: Texas

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: $78,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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 3 inch rainfall in under 3 hours across the counties, with isolated totals in Gillespie County to near 5 inches produced widespread flash flooding as reported by Amateur Radio Spotters. Widespread flash flooding forced roads closings across the multi-county area.

The radar

The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 125 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:50 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 flash flood, 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Kerr

When: May 19, 7:50 PM CST to 7:55 PM CST
Where: Kerr County, 1 mi SW of Ingram
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 30.070, -99.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Gillespie

When: May 19, 8:00 PM CST to 8:10 PM CST
Where: Gillespie County, Fredericksburg
Coordinates: 30.280, -98.870

Tree damage reported by the Sheriff's Department in downtown Fredericksburg.

Flash Flood, Kerr

When: May 19, 8:30 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Kerr County, Countywide
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 30.062, -99.350 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Gillespie

When: May 19, 8:30 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Gillespie County, Countywide
Property damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 30.318, -98.946 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Bandera

When: May 19, 9:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Bandera County, Countywide
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 29.747, -99.246 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Blanco

When: May 19, 9:15 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Blanco County, Countywide
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 30.266, -98.400 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Kendall

When: May 19, 9:30 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Kendall County, Countywide
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 29.945, -98.712 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Medina

When: May 19, 10:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
Where: Medina County, Countywide
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 29.356, -99.110 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
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

More

Every storm in Texas in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, May 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: 5598800, 5598802, 5598801, 5598803, 5598804, 5598805, 5598806, 5598807.