Texas, 2001Flash Flooding in Texas, May 3 to 4, 2001
May 3 to 4, 2001 · NWS AMA · 2 events in 2 counties and zones
Thunderstorms containing torrential rains caused flash flooding across the southeastern and extreme eastern Texas panhandle during the evening and early morning hours.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- Events
- 2
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.
Thunderstorms containing torrential rains caused flash flooding across the southeastern and extreme eastern Texas panhandle during the evening and early morning hours.
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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 3, 3:05 PM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 3, 3:05 PM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
405 PM CDT THU MAY 3 2001
UPR LVL LOW ROTATING OVER SRN UT THIS AFTN WITH LITTLE MVMT EXPECTD
DURING THE NEXT 18 TO 24 HRS. DOWNSTREAM SHORTWAVE RIDGING UNDERWAY
OVER THE SRN PLAINS. STATIONARY FRONT EXTENDS FROM JUST EAST OF
BEAVER SWWD TO NEAR CLAUDE TO SOUTH OF MULESHOE. WITH RIGHT-MVG
SUPERCELL TRACKING EAST JUST S OF CWA. DRYLINE FAR SW OF TX PNHDL IN
XTRM SERN NM AND FAR W TX.
NOW THAT AVN HAS CAUGHT UP WITH ETA WRT TO LOW LVL FEATURES...HAVE
BASED MUCH OF THIS FCST PACKAGE ON AVN. ETA CONTINUES TO BE TOO
PROGRESSIVE WITH MVT OF GREAT BASIN UPR LOW WHILE NGM IS TOO FAR
NORTH WITH LOW LEVEL FEATURES. WIDESPREAD SHRA/TSRA ON TAP FOR
TONIGHT AS WARM MOIST AIR ADV PATTERN AND UPR LVL DIFFLUENCE
STRENGTHENS. STATIONARY FRONT WILL GRADUALLY LIFT BACK NORTH AS A
WARM FRONT DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. IN FACT...LOCALLY HVY RAIN A
REAL POSSIBILITY DUE TO TRAINING OF CELLS...PARTICULARLY ALONG AND
NEAR WARM FRONT.
MORE ACTIVE WX WILL BE POSSIBLE FRI AFTN AND FRI NIGHT AS UPR LVL
LOW BEGINS TO LIFT NE TOWARDS THE CNTRL PLAINS AND MAIN ENERGY
ROTATES NE ACROSS THE PNHDLS. CONVECTION LIKELY TO INITIATE ALONG
THE DRYLINE LATE FRI AFTN ACROSS ERN NM. STORMS EXPECTED MOVE EAST
AND EVOLVE INTO A SQUALL LINE. DESPITE LOW LVL DRY AIR ADVECTING
ACROSS THE AREA ON SAT...DECIDED TO RETAIN LOW CHANCE POPS AS STEEP
LAPSE RATES AND WRAP AROUND MID LEVEL MOISTURE WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR
VIRGA TYPE CONVECTION.
WENT AHEAD AND INTRODUCED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF POPS IN FOR SUN AND
MON DUE TO WEAK IMPULSE MOVG SE IN NWRLY FLOW AND INTERACTING WITH
NEXT COLD FRONT TO PUSH ACROSS THE AREA. DRY FOR WED AND THU.
.AMA...
TX...NONE.
OK...NONE.
JH
Flash Flood, Donley
- When
- May 3, 7:50 PM CST to May 4, 12:08 AM CST
- Where
- Donley County, Clarendon
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 34.965, -100.814 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash flooding was first reported by a National Weather Service Cooperative Observer in Clarendon with U.S. Highway 287 closed. Water was reported three feet deep on U.S. Highway 287 in Clarendon and water was covering the road on State Highway 70 with both highways being shut down. Vehicles were reported to have been washed away and people had to be rescued. The Texas Department of Public Safety lost three patrol cars in the flood. By late evening...there was one foot of water covering U.S. Highway 287 and everyone had been rescued. By the early morning hours...eight Government apartments had four inches of water in them and four feet of water was found around a house with six inches of water inside. Major damage was done to the house. A peanut field was destroyed just north of Clarendon as the water stripped the top soil away along with the peanut seeds. There was extensive county road damage across Donley county.
Flash Flood, Wheeler
- When
- May 4, 12:15 AM CST
- Where
- Wheeler County, Twitty
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 35.401, -100.270 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Shamrock Police Department reported six to eight inches of water over U.S. Highway 83 with several county roads under water.
- 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.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 3 to 4, 2001$4.6 million · F0 · 78 events
- Hail in Florida, May 3, 2001$250,000 · 3 in hail · 1 event
- Winter Storm in Colorado, May 3 to 4, 2001$150,000 · 4 events
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 3, 2001$150,000 · 1 event
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, May 3, 2001$100,000 · 1 in hail · 4 events
- High Wind in California, May 3, 2001$50,000 · 66 kt wind · 2 events
- Lightning Strike in Iowa, May 3, 2001$50,000 · 1 event
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 3, 2001$50,000 · 1 event
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 3, 2001$50,000 · 1 event
- Lightning Strike in Florida, May 3, 20011 injured · 1 event
- Blizzard in Wyoming, May 3, 20014 events
- Excessive Heat in Massachusetts, May 3, 20013 events
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: 5247426, 5247427.