Texas, 2001

Flash Flooding in Texas, May 5, 2001

May 5, 2001 · NWS EWX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Heavy rainfall produced as much as 3 to 5 inches of rain across southern Karnes County and much of DeWitt and Lavaca Counties. Maximum totals increased to near 8 inches from east of Cuero to Yoakum and Sweet Home southward to almost 15 inches the the extreme southern part of DeWitt and Lavaca Counties.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
$170,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

Heavy rainfall produced as much as 3 to 5 inches of rain across southern Karnes County and much of DeWitt and Lavaca Counties. Maximum totals increased to near 8 inches from east of Cuero to Yoakum and Sweet Home southward to almost 15 inches the the extreme southern part of DeWitt and Lavaca Counties. Flash flooding developed in the mid afternoon across the three county area and continued through late afternoon. Dozens of state and farm-to-market roads were closed due to the 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 May 5, 1:40 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 5, 1:40 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
240 PM CDT SAT MAY 5 2001

SHOWERS/TSTMS MOVG NWD INTO THE CWA THIS AFTN ALONG LAST NIGHTS OLD
BOUNDARY WITH JUICY 70-75 DEGREE DEW PTS FEEDING INTO THESE STORMS.
SINCE THESE STORMS PARTIALLY THERMALLY DRIVEN...EXPECT A DECREASE IN
THE LATE EVENING HOURS.  HOWEVER DYNAMICALLY DRIVEN STORMS OVER
CENTRAL TX FROM A S/W ENERGY KICKING OUT OF NM INTO N TX THIS AFTN
AND EVENING WILL SKIRT THE NRN CWA WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR STORMS TO
CONT THRU LATE TONIGHT INTO THE ERN CWA.  DURATION OF CONVECTION
TONIGHT AND A SOAKED GROUND WILL PROMPT THE NEED FOR AN FFA FOR MUCH
OF THE NRN AND ERN CWA OVERNIGHT...ALONG WITH THE MENTION OF SVR
MAINLY NRN CWA ON THE TAIL END OF S/W AND A STALLING DRY LINE.

BEYOND TONIGHT...AN UPR TROF OVER THE CENTRAL U.S. DOWN TO TX TO
MOVE SLOWLY EWD WITH A FRONTAL BOUNDARY INTO OR JUST NORTH OF THE
CWA...SO WILL KEEP THE CHC RW/TRW DUE TO LOWER LEVELS REMAINING
MOIST AND S/WS DROPPING SEWD IN THE NLY FLOW ALOFT.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
AUS 068/084/066/081 6533
DRT 066/089/067/086 3212
SAT 067/085/068/082 6533

.EWX...FFA FOR ALL BUT THE SWRN CWA THRU TONIGHT.

1/16

The radar

The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:42 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Karnes

When
May 5, 2:45 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Karnes County, South Portion
Property damage
$40,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
28.906, -97.859 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Lavaca

When
May 5, 3:30 PM CST to 6:30 PM CST
Where
Lavaca County, Southeast Portion
Property damage
$80,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
29.384, -96.930 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, De Witt

When
May 5, 4:00 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
De Witt County, Northeast Portion
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
29.082, -97.357 (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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, May 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: 5243867, 5243868, 5243869.