Heavy rain developed again just before midnight of July 3 over much of South Central Texas along and west of the I-35 corridor. The repeated heavy rainfall produced general 3 to 4 inch rains over most of the counties from the Hill Country southward to US90.
Every event with a place to put it; 15 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.
Heavy rain developed again just before midnight of July 3 over much of South Central Texas along and west of the I-35 corridor. The repeated heavy rainfall produced general 3 to 4 inch rains over most of the counties from the Hill Country southward to US90. Flash flooding began in the early morning hours and continued generally until the late morning. Most low water crossings in the multi-county area were reported to be flooded and road closures were widespread.
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 3, 1:10 AM CST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 210 AM CDT WED JUL 3 2002 SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING AGAIN THIS MORNING NEAR THE 700MB TROUGH AXIS. SINCE THE ATMOSPHERIC FLOW HAS CHANGED LITTLE OVER THE PAST 2 DAYS, WILL KEEP HIGH POPS AGAIN TODAY WITH FLASH FLOOD WATCH EXTENDED THROUGH TONIGHT. THE MID LEVEL LOW CENTER IS PROGGED TO LIFT NORTH THROUGH THE PANHANDLE TONIGHT, IN RESPONSE TO THE NEXT APPROACHING UPPER LOW MOVING ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST U.S., RESULTING IN A WEAKER TROUGH NEAR THE RIO GRANDE. OUR PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES REMAIN AT OR ABOVE 1.6 THROUGH THE 4TH, SO WILL LOOK FOR THE 700 TROF AXIS AS FOCUS FOR AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE GOOD DEEP SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL INSURE HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS. BUT ALL IN ALL THE AREAL COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DROP THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AS THE BETTER DYNAMICS SHIFT FARTHER AWAY FROM US. FOR THE WEEKEND, THE UPPER HIGH OVER THE CENTRAL U.S. NOSES BACK INTO TEXAS AS ANOTHER LOW OVER THE SOUTHEAST U.S. BREAKS FROM THE MAIN TROUGH AND DRIFT WEST. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES BARELY 1.6 FOR THE WEEKEND. SO WILL SHAVE POPS BACK, EXPECTING ACTIVITY ONLY WITH THE SEABREEZE BOUNDARY IN THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS ACROSS SOUTHERN MOST COUNTIES. PRELIMS... AUS 85 73 88 73 5432 DRT 85 75 87 75 8664 SAT 85 74 89 74 6542 .EWX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE ENTIRE CWA THROUGH TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Additional 2 inch rain totals over the county with isolated amounts of up to 4 inches in the western part of the county caused flash flooding to redevelop and continue through the early morning hours.
General 3 to 4 inch rainfall over the southern part of Atascosa County caused flash flooding for the early morning hours.
Additional 1 to 2 inch totals countywide with isolated amounts of up to 4 inches produced brief flash flooding in the early morning hours over the county.
General 4 to 6 inch totals with isolated amounts of up to 8 inches caused a very rapid resumption of flash flooding across the entire county. Considerable damage was indicated to county roads and bridges. Road closures were widespread through the early morning.
General 4 to 6 inch totals with isolated amounts of up to 8 inches over the east part of the county caused devastating flash flooding. More than 100 homes suffered flood damage in Kerrville. Some were knocked off their slabs and carried downstream by floodwaters. Most roads in the eastern part of Kerr County were closed due to flooding in the early morning, with many closed for the remainder of the day due to damage.
General 3 to 4 inch totals with isolated totals of 7 inches over the southern part of Real County caused very dangerous flash flooding over this flood-prone area. Campers were stranded in their camps along the Frio River from southern Real County into northern Uvalde County and were unable to escape until that afternoon. Widespread damage was reported to roads and bridges over the south half of the county.
General 3 inch rain totals fell countywide, with as much as 7 inches in some locations. Flash flooding continued to be a problem through the early morning hours.
General 5 to 7 inch totals over the county, with isolated amounts as high as 12 inches, caused widespread flash flooding through the mid morning period over Kendall County. Damage was becoming widespread to roads and bridges and travel was very hazardous.
General 4 to 6 inch totals fell in Uvalde County, causing widespread flash flooding. In addition, totals of up to 10 inches over the northern part of the county caused devastating flooding and trapped scores of campers and vacationers along the Frio River, who could not be rescued until afternoon.
Additional rainfall of 2 to 3 inches over the south part of the county, with isolated amount of 5 inches, caused widespread, dangerous flash flooding to redevelop. Roads and bridge sustained damage, with numerous closures due to flooding through the mid morning and due to damage through the remainder of the day.
The western part of Hays County received between 3 and 4 inches of rain, with some locations getting up to 5 inches. Flash flooding developed very quickly across this part of the county in the early morning hours and continued until mid morning.
General 2 to 3 inch rain totals over the county, with isolated amounts of up to 4 inches in the south and west parts of the county, caused flash flooding over the entire area. The flash flooding continued from around sunrise to the mid morning. By the following day, flow into Lake Travis will bring it to its full elevation of 681 feet above Mean Sea Level.
General 2 to 3 inch totals over Burnet County, along with isolated amounts of up to 4 inches, redeveloped flash flooding through the morning hours. Several county roads were closed due to flooding, with considerable damage reported.
The Guadalupe River crested at Spring Branch at 43.75 feet on July 3 at 1115CST, where flood stage is 30.0 feet.
General 2 to 3 inch rains over Williamson County in the early morning hours caused flash flooding to redevelop. Isolated rain totals of up to 4 inches were received across the county and the flooding continued until just past noon.
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: 5311864, 5311865, 5311866, 5311867, 5311868, 5311938, 5311939, 5311940, 5311941, 5311942, 5311943, 5311944, 5311945, 5311946, 5312021.