Name: Flash Flooding in Texas, August 30, 2001
Start: 2001-08-30T09:30
End: 2001-08-30T17:00
Location: Texas

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $2.1 million
Crop damage: $80,000
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.

Showers and thunderstorms began reforming across the I-35 corridor from San Antonio to New Braunfels near sunrise, and by mid-morning, had produced an additional rainfall averaging 1 to 2 inches from San Antonio and New Braunfels southeastward into the Seguin and Floresville areas. The highest totals reached near 11 inches from just east of San Antonio to Seguin and Kingsbury in Guadalupe County and across Wilson County from Floresville eastward. Wilson County Emergency Management Officials reported that severe flash flooding had cut SH123 which runs from south of Seguin into Stockdale. Water was reported to be six inches over the 500-year flood-plain mark along SH123, and the road remained closed for several hours. Over 100 homes in Stockdale were flooded, causing an estimated $2 million in damage. Many indicated that it was the worst flooding yet seen in the town. A very dramatic high water rescue of a motorist and his passenger in San Antonio was broadcast live by several San Antonio television station. The San Antonio Emergency Manager gave a live explanation of the operation and its hazards. Then the event took a terrifying turn as two of the firefighters were swept off their feet and into the rapidly moving water as they approached the vehicle. Fortunately, they were able to latch onto low tree limbs and pull themselves to safety. It was an extremely effective lesson in the dangers of flash flooding.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 30, 9:08 AM CST, 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 30, 9:08 AM CST, 22 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
955 AM CDT WED AUG 29 2001

FFA CONTS FOR ERN THIRD OF CWA AS HEAVY RAINS TRAIN ACROSS S CNTRL
TX WITH TROPICAL CONVECTION ANCHORED NEAR SAN ANTONIO AND CONTINUED
DEVELOPMENT TO THE WEST THIS MORNING.  ISOLD SHRA ALSO FORMING OVER
THE FAR WRN CWA WHERE RECENT ETA RUNS HAVE BEEN INDICATING SOME
DEVELOPMENT BACK TO THE WEST AND CONTG EAST.  WILL LIKELY HAVE
TO EXTENDED WATCH BEYOND 10 PM ON AFTN PACKAGE.

.EWX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH 10 PM GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST
       OF INTERSTATE 35 OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.

1/13/23

@RUKWBCeKDENFXUS64 KEWX 301508
AFDSAT
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
955 AM CDT THU AUG 30 2001

FFA CONTS FOR ERN THIRD OF CWA AS HEAVY RAINS TRAIN ACROSS S CNTRL
TX WITH TROPICAL CONVECTION ANCHORED NEAR SAN ANTONIO AND CONTINUED
DEVELOPMENT TO THE WEST THIS MORNING.  ISOLD SHRA ALSO FORMING OVER
THE FAR WRN CWA WHERE RECENT ETA RUNS HAVE BEEN INDICATING SOME
DEVELOPMENT BACK TO THE WEST AND CONTG EAST.  WILL LIKELY HAVE
TO EXTENDED WATCH BEYOND 10 PM ON AFTN PACKAGE.

.EWX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH 10 PM GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST
       OF INTERSTATE 35 OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.

1/13/23

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, Guadalupe

When: August 30, 9:30 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: Guadalupe County, Countywide
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $30,000
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 29.583, -97.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Bexar

When: August 30, 10:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: Bexar County, Countywide
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 29.449, -98.520 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Comal

When: August 30, 10:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: Comal County, Countywide
Property damage: $30,000
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 29.808, -98.278 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Wilson

When: August 30, 10:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: Wilson County, Countywide
Property damage: $2.0 million
Crop damage: $50,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 29.174, -98.087 (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 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, August 2001

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: 5260986, 5260987, 5260988, 5260989.