Flash Flood in Texas, September 2, 2001

Name: Flash Flood in Texas, September 2, 2001
Start: 2001-09-02T10:00
End: 2001-09-02T14:00
Location: Texas

September 2, 2001 · NWS LCH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An additional two to three inches of rain resulted in extended flooding from Nome and China to Port Arthur. The primary damage was to roads and property.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: $75,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 LCH wrote it up.

An additional two to three inches of rain resulted in extended flooding from Nome and China to Port Arthur. The primary damage was to roads and property.

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 Lake Charles, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 2, 9:00 AM CST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 2, 9:00 AM CST, 1 hour before

SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1000 AM CDT SUN SEP 2 2001

LOTS OF WATER FROM BEAUMONT TO LAKE CHARLES FLOOD WARNINGS IN
EFFECT UNTIL NOON FOR JEFFERSON...ORANGE COUNTIES...AND
CALCASIEU PARISH. AROUND 8 AM...THE TRAINING AREAS OF LIGHT
SHOWERS SUDDENLY FLARED UP TO A SOLID LINE OF TSRA...WITH THE
CELLS TRAINING OVER THE SAME AREAS. SOME AREA REPORTS UP TO 6
INCHES THIS MORNING. NORTH OF THIS LINE IS HARDLY NO PRECIP
FALLING...ESPECIALLY OVER INLAND SE TX.

FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES OVER ENTIRE AREA. REORIENTED THE ZONES TO
CONFINE WITH THE PRESENT TRENDS. DROPPED THE INLAND SE TX ZONES TO
50 PERCENT...WENT NEAR 100 PERCENT ELSEWHERE. THIS

.LCH...FFA TODAY FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS...SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL
LOUISIANA-LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216.

.UPDATED NUMBERS...
AEX 83/72/89/73 +353
BPT 79/74/87/75 +553
LCH 79/73/87/74 +553
LFT 81/73/88/74 +553

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Jefferson

When: September 2, 10:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County, Countywide
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 29.854, -94.153 (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, September 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: 5270332.