Thunderstorm Wind, Galveston
- When
- August 15, 3:55 AM CST
- Where
- Galveston County, Crystal Beach
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 29.417, -94.667
Roof blown off house and power lines down.
Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Texas, August 15, 2002
8 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $480,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- 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 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 Houston/Galveston, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 15, 1:50 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 15, 1:50 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 250 AM CDT THU AUG 15 2002 WIDESPREAD SHWRS AND TSTMS OCCURRING EARLY THIS AM ALONG COASTAL ZONES AND OFFSHORE EAST OF MID/UPPER LEVEL TROF AXIS WHICH IS SHIFTING EAST INTO FA. MAIN FORECAST CONCERN IS 1ST PD POPS AS THERE IS LIKELY TO BE A DECENT GRADIENT TODAY ACROSS INLAND ZONES. HAVE DECIDED TO TREND FORECAST WITH A COMPROMISE OF AVN/ETA PRECIP FIELDS. HOWEVER...COULD MAKE SOME LAST MINUTE ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON RADAR TRENDS LATER THIS MORN. BELIEVE SHWRS/TSTMS WILL BE ONGOING TO START THE DAY ACROSS COASTAL ZONES AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ZONES. WILL TAPER POPS WITH EXPECTED PW FIELD WITH 2+ INCHES ACROSS CENTRAL AND COASTAL ZONES AND LESS THAN 2 INCHES ACROSS N/NW ZONES. WILL ALSO MENTION HEAVY RAIN IN ALL BUT N/NW ZONES. LIKELY TO SEE AVERAGE AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES WITH ISOLATED 3 TO 5 INCH AMOUNTS ALONG AND SE OF AN EL CAMPO TO HOUSTON TO CLEVELAND LINE. WILL KEEP LOW CHC POPS FOR 2ND PERIOD ACROSS THIS AREA...BUT HEAVY RAIN THREAT SHOULD SHIFT NE OF AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WILL CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE A DECREASE IN POPS FOR FRIDAY. HOWEVER... THINK WITH MID-LEVEL WEAKNESS OVER FORECAST AREA WHICH IS SANDWICHED BETWEEN WEST COAST RIDGE AND BERMUDA HIGH WILL STILL SEE SCT CONVECTION WITH HEATING FOR ALL BUT N/NW ZONES...SO WILL FORECAST SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN GUIDANCE. WILL KEEP CHC ON SAT BUT LOWER TO SLIGHT CHC ON SUN AS HEIGHTS RISE OVER AREA AND LIKELY TO SEE MORE SYNOPTIC SCALE SUBSIDENCE FROM RIDGE TO THE WEST. HIGH TEMPS TODAY AT MOST LOCATIONS SHOULD BE BELOW GUIDANCE NUMBERS GIVEN EXPECTED PRECIP AND CLOUDS. THE TOUGH AREA WILL BE THE NW ZONES WHERE SOME HEATING WILL LIKELY OCCUR. FOR MARINE AREA...WILL KEEP ADVISORY FOR GULF WATERS FOR SEAS AND HAVE CAUTION MENTIONED FOR BAYS TODAY. 33/47 .HGX....SCA GULF WATERS AND SCEC BAYS PRELIMS... CLL EB 092/076 094/075 095 423 IAH TB 088/076 092/076 094 734 GLS TB 086/080 088/080 089 +44 SW COAST 834
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 40 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:55 UTC.
Event by event
8 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Galveston
- When
- August 15, 4:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
- Where
- Galveston County, South Portion
- Property damage
- $75,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 29.298, -94.811 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Water entering businesses on Broadway by 4:00 AM CST. Six inches of rain at Galveston's Scholes Field through 4:44 AM CST. Widespread street flooding by 5:45 AM CST (up to 3 feet deep at some locations). More than 11 inches of rain falls at Scholes Field by the end of the day.
Flash Flood, Brazoria
- When
- August 15, 5:45 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
- Where
- Brazoria County, Angleton
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 29.168, -95.434 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Street flooding in Angleton and Lake Jackson.
Flash Flood, Waller
- When
- August 15, 10:45 AM CST to 2:30 PM CST
- Where
- Waller County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 30.011, -95.988 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Many roads under water.
Flash Flood, Washington
- When
- August 15, 10:45 AM CST to 2:30 PM CST
- Where
- Washington County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 30.215, -96.403 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Many roads under water; vehicles submerged in eastern portions of the county.
Flash Flood, Grimes
- When
- August 15, 10:45 AM CST to 2:30 PM CST
- Where
- Grimes County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 30.544, -95.985 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Many roads under water and closed.
Flash Flood, Harris
- When
- August 15, 10:45 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Harris County, East Portion
- Property damage
- $60,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 29.857, -95.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
More than 4.50 inches of rain has flooded many roads.
Flash Flood, Galveston
- When
- August 15, 11:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Galveston County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 29.298, -94.811 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Major flooding across the county. Water in cars and businesses, streets closed. Island received more than 11 inches of rain.
Flash Flood, Brazoria
- When
- August 15, 11:00 AM CST to 7:50 PM CST
- Where
- Brazoria County, Alvin
- Property damage
- $90,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 29.168, -95.434 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Several roads in and around Alvin have high water; water is in homes in Alvin.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
- 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
- Lightning Strikes in North Carolina, August 15, 2002
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, August 15, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 15, 2002
- Damaging Winds in New York, August 15, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, August 15, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Tennessee, August 15, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 15, 2002
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, August 15, 2002
- Flood in Texas, August 15, 2002
- Flood in Texas, August 15, 2002
- Flood in Louisiana, August 15, 2002
- Hail in Kansas, August 15, 2002
More
Every storm in Texas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, August 2002
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: 5315237, 5315236, 5315238, 5315240, 5315241, 5315242, 5315243, 5313769, 5315239.