Additional showers and thunderstorms continued to develop through the afternoon and into the evening of July 1 over the Kendall-Bexar-Comal County area. An additional rainfall of up to 10 inches fell during this period, with the rain continuing through the morning of July 2 over Comal County.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS EWX wrote it up.
Additional showers and thunderstorms continued to develop through the afternoon and into the evening of July 1 over the Kendall-Bexar-Comal County area. An additional rainfall of up to 10 inches fell during this period, with the rain continuing through the morning of July 2 over Comal County. This, added to the previous amounts, and in view of soils that were long since saturated, produced widespread flash flooding across the three counties. Damage was now becoming widespread to roads and bridges across the three counties.
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 Jul 1, 1:30 PM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 230 PM CDT MON JUL 1 2002 ETA AND AVN IN GENERAL AGREEMENT IN SLOWLY SHIFTING THE UPR LOW AND HEAVIEST RAIN FURTHER WEST OVER THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS BY TUE NIGHT/WED. HOWEVER...IN THE SHORT TERM IT APPEARS CENTRAL AND ERN CWA WILL BE FOCUS FOR HVY RAIN WITH DIFFLUENCE ALOFT WITH SCT SHRA/TSRA FEEDING INTO S CNTRL TX WHERE A SHALLOW COOL SFC RDG/BOUNDARY HAS DEVELOPED FM THE MCS. ETA PRODUCING SIGNIFICANT QPF AMOUNTS OVER THE CENTRAL/ERN CWA THIS EVENING/OVERNIGHT WHILE AVN SHOWING A SIMILAR QPF AREA BUT LIGHTER AMOUNTS...EVEN THOUGH AVN BETTER INITIALIZED WITH PWS. FFA WILL BE EXTENDED THRU TUE ON THE AFTN PACKAGE WITH A SLOW SHIFT OF HEAVY RAIN TOWARDS THE DRIER WESTERN COUNTIES BY WED/THU. UPR RDG TO BUILD INTO THE AREA IN THE LATE WEEK AND WEEKEND WITH RAIN CHCS DROPPING TO SLIGHT CHC BY SAT/SUN...INCREASING TO CHC ON MONDAY AS AN EASTERLY WAVE ARRIVES. 01/13/04/10 PRELIMS... AUS TE 072/085 072/088 073 8643 DRT ET 073/085 072/085 074 3454 SAT TE 072/084 073/087 074 8643 .EWX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH ENTIRE CWA THRU TUE.
The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:57 UTC.
3 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
General 3 to 4 inch totals were reported countywide during this additional rain period, with the heavies rain of up to 6 inches in the south part of the county. All low water crossings in the county were now flooded with flash flooding on most small creeks and streams as well.
Additional 2 to 3 inch totals fell across Bexar County with isolated totals of up to 6 inches in the north central part of the city of San Antonio. Flash flooding developed very quickly and was countywide in its coverage. Small streams and creeks were also flash flooding. Officials reported more than 230 high water rescues in San Antonio from the night of July 1 through noon on July 2. Damage was reported to numerous roads and bridges across the county. An elderly couple apparently attempted to drive home from a restaurant during the severe flash flooding late Monday evening, despite the pleas of the restaurant patrons. Their bodies were recovered near 0930CST on July 4 in their submerged automobile in Olmos Creek. A young man and his friend were playing near swollen Apache Creek when both were swept into the creek on the afternoon of July 1. The two were rescued and the friend recovered quickly, but the first young man slipped into a coma. He died on July 5 after being removed from life support. The body of a fourth victim was found in a drainage pipe by a city public work crew while cleaning debris on the afternoon of July 2. He had apparently drowned during the evening of July 1 and the body had been swept into the pipe.
General 3 to 4 inch totals fell across the county with isolated amounts of up to 10 inches in the western part of the county. Flash flooding was reported countywidefrom the late afternoon of July 1 through the remainder of the night and into the next morning and afternoon. Widespread damage was indicated to roads and bridges.
Leon Creek crested at IH-35 near San Antonio at 27.23 feet on July 2 at 1800CST, where flood stage is 15.0 feet.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Bexar | 2002-07-01 | 59 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Flash Flood, Bexar | 2002-07-01 | 11 | Male | In Water | Direct |
| Flash Flood, Bexar | 2002-07-01 | 32 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Flash Flood, Bexar | 2002-07-01 | 70 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, July 2002
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: 5311465, 5311543, 5311544, 5311545.