Flash Flooding in Texas, August 31, 2001

Name: Flash Flooding in Texas, August 31, 2001
Start: 2001-08-31T18:30
End: 2001-08-31T23:59
Location: Texas

August 31, 2001 · NWS EWX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: $240,000
Crop damage: $230,000
Events: 9

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.

Again on the afternoon of the 31 st, scattered showers and thunderstorms reformed across the eastern portion of the Texas Hill Country and began producing heavy rainfall as they moved southeastward. Accumulations were generally 1 to 2 inches over the nine county area bounded by a line from Kerrville to Fredericksburg, Boerne, Austin, San Marcos, New Braunfels, San Antonio, Pearsall and back to Kerrville. Spotty rainfall totals between 3 and 4 inches were reported in an area from Mountain Home to Fredericksburg to Blanco to Leon Springs and back to Kerrville. Flash flooding was generally brief across the area, generally restricted to rural roads and low water crossings.

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 31, 1:45 PM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 1:45 PM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
245 PM CDT FRI AUG 31 2001

MAIN BODY OF RAIN CONTINUES TO EXIT THE SOUTHEAST COUNTIES AS UPPER
LOW SLIDES EASTWARD.  BEHIND THE LOW IS ANOTHER IMPULSE THAT IS
TRIGGERING CONVECTION FROM DALLAS/FORT WORTH TO SAN ANGELO AND
MIDLAND/ODESSA.  THIS SECONDARY AREA OF CONVECTION IS MOVING
STEADILY SOUTHWARD AND WILL BE IN THE HILL COUNTRY BEFORE SUNSET AND
INTO SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS LATER TONIGHT IF ALL HOLDS TOGETHER.  AS A
RESULT...WILL GO AHEAD AND KEEP THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH UP THROUGH
TONIGHT.  RAINFALL TOTALS WILL NOT BE AS GREAT AS PAST DAYS BUT
SINCE THE GROUND IS SO SATURATED AND CREEKS AND RIVERS ARE RUNNING
BANKFULL OR HIGHER...CANT SEE TAKING THE WATCH DOWN UNTIL ALL
PRECIP IS DEFINITELY OUT OF THE AFFECTED WATCH AREA...AND THAT MAY
NOT BE UNTIL SATURDAY NIGHT OR SUNDAY...ALTHOUGH SOME POPS WILL
REMAIN IN THE FORECAST THIS COMING WEEK.  LESSER CLOUD COVER WILL
ALLOW MAX TEMPS TO WARM UP THIS WEEKEND FOLLOWING SEVERAL DAYS OF
WELL-BELOW HIGHS.

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
AUS 71/89/72/90 5532
DRT 75/93/75/95 3321
SAT 73/91/73/92 5532

.EWX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND ADJACENT TEXAS
HILL COUNTRY TONIGHT.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Kerr

When: August 31, 6:30 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where: Kerr County, East Portion
Property damage: $30,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 30.062, -99.350 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Gillespie

When: August 31, 7:00 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where: Gillespie County, Southeast Portion
Property damage: $30,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 30.318, -98.946 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Blanco

When: August 31, 7:30 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Blanco County, South Portion
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 30.266, -98.400 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Kendall

When: August 31, 7:30 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Kendall County, Countywide
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $30,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 29.945, -98.712 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Bexar

When: August 31, 8:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Bexar County, North Portion
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 29.449, -98.520 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Comal

When: August 31, 8:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Comal County, Countywide
Property damage: $30,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 29.808, -98.278 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Hays

When: August 31, 8:30 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Hays County, Countywide
Property damage: $30,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 30.058, -98.031 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Travis

When: August 31, 9:00 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Travis County, Austin
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 30.335, -97.782 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Atascosa

When: August 31, 10:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Atascosa County, North Portion
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 28.894, -98.527 (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

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: 5261066, 5261067, 5261068, 5261069, 5261070, 5261071, 5261072, 5261073, 5261074.