Texas, 1998

Flash Flooding in Texas, November 13 to 14, 1998

November 13 to 14, 1998 · NWS EWX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Light rain continued through much of Friday afternoon and evening in the area from Cuero to Hallettsville to LaGrange and Gonzales. Soils were already saturated from the heavy rainfall Thursday morning and early Friday morning.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$80,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

Light rain continued through much of Friday afternoon and evening in the area from Cuero to Hallettsville to LaGrange and Gonzales. Soils were already saturated from the heavy rainfall Thursday morning and early Friday morning. Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall began to reform in the Yorktown to Cuero area around 9 pm CST Friday evening and drifted slowly northward. As a result, Fayette, Lavaca, Gonzales and DeWitt Counties received general 1 to 2 inches of additional rain with isolated totals to 5 inches, causing several roads to go under water. Flooding continued into the early morning hours as heavy rain persisted across the four counties.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, De Witt

When
November 13, 9:30 PM CST to November 14, 4:00 AM CST
Where
De Witt County, North Portion
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
29.082, -97.357 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Lavaca

When
November 13, 9:30 PM CST to November 14, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Lavaca County, North Portion
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
29.384, -96.930 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Gonzales

When
November 14, 1:00 AM CST to 5:00 AM CST
Where
Gonzales County, East Portion
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
29.457, -97.492 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Fayette

When
November 14, 2:00 AM CST to 5:00 AM CST
Where
Fayette County, South Portion
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
29.877, -96.920 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Texas in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, November 1998

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: 5669932, 5669933, 5669934, 5669935.