A stalled frontal boundary over south Texas in combination with a upper level storm system moving out of the Southwest Portion of the United States resulted in heavy rains and flooding for the second time this month across the Edwards Plateau and the Northwest Hill Country. Rainfall amounts during the week of the 21st through the 25th were between 2 and 6 inches over much of the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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 SJT wrote it up.
A stalled frontal boundary over south Texas in combination with a upper level storm system moving out of the Southwest Portion of the United States resulted in heavy rains and flooding for the second time this month across the Edwards Plateau and the Northwest Hill Country. Rainfall amounts during the week of the 21st through the 25th were between 2 and 6 inches over much of the area. However, Crockett and Sutton Counties bore the brunt of the flooding with anywhere from 4 to 17 inches of rain.
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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 22, 1:57 PM CST, 7 hours 3 minutes earlier.
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 257 PM CDT TUE OCT 22 2002 18Z ANALYSIS SHOWS A DEEP UPPER LEVEL TROUGH DIGGING ALONG THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST. A STRONG SHORTWAVE IS MOVING EAST INTO WEST TEXAS. OTHERWISE...MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES COVER MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. A FEW BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS ARE BEGINNING TO SHOW UP ACROSS THE SOUTH/SOUTHWEST COUNTIES. TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER TO MID 60S. WITH THE OVERALL UPPER LEVEL PATTERN OF A TROUGH OVER THE SOUTHWEST STATES AND PLENTY OF MOISTURE PUMPING IN OFF THE GULF INTO WEST TEXAS...WILL MAINTAIN THE CLOUDY REGIME THROUGH THE ENTIRE WEEK. WITH A CONTINUAL SEQUENCE OF SHORTWAVES MOVING ACROSS THE AREA...THE ON AND OFF SHOWER ACTIVITY WILL ALSO CONTINUE. TONIGHT... MODELS APPEAR TO BE HAVING A HARD TIME HANDLING THE LATEST SHORTWAVE MOVING INTO WEST TEXAS. THIS APPEARS QUITE A BIT STRONGER THAN INDICATED ON THE MODELS. ALSO THE UPPER LEVEL JET WILL BE MOVING INTO THE AREA PROVIDING AMPLE SUPPORT. WITH AMPLE MOISTURE AVAILABLE AND LEFT OVER BOUNDARIES ACROSS THE AREA FROM MONDAY...EXPECT WIDESPREAD RAINFALL ACROSS ALL OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS TO DEVELOP TONIGHT. THE BEST CHANCE AND HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION WILL BE ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN COUNTIES. WITH THE HEAVIER RAINS WHICH HAVE OCCURRED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS ACROSS THE HEARTLAND INTO THE SOUTHWEST COUNTIES...WILL INITIATE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH. BECAUSE OF SUCH LOW FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE FOR THE SOUTHWEST COUNTIES WILL INCLUDE THESE IN THE PROPOSED FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT EVEN THOUGH IT HAS BEEN 2 TO 3 DAYS SINCE THE HEAVIER RAINS THERE. SEVERE POTENTIAL WILL EXIST AS PER SWODY1 GUIDANCE...HOWEVER WITH THE EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER EXCEPT IN THE SOUTH...FEEL THIS MAY BE OVERPLAYED A BIT. NOT TO SAY THERE WILL NOT BE SEVERE STORMS AROUND WITH LARGE HAIL AS THE MAIN THREAT. THERE WILL BE SOME MODERATE INSTABILITY...ESPECIALLY TO THE SOUTH AND WEST. WITH PW/S UP AROUND 1.25 INCHES...AND ONLY MODERATE THETA-E SUPPORT...HEAVY RAIN APPEARS TO BE THE BIGGER THREAT TONIGHT. WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... THE SOUTHERN JET EXTENDS ACROSS THE AREA. ALSO PLENTY OF MOISTURE CONTINUES TO PUMP INTO THE REGION...VIA THE LOW LEVEL JET. MORE WEAK IMPULSES RIDE ACROSS AND A FRONT PUSHES SOUTH LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY. WITH THE VIRTUALLY CONITINUAL CHANCE OF SHOWERS...THE BEST SHOT APPEARS TO BE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. OVERRUNNING LOOKS TO TAKE OVER THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY...ALLOWING SHOWERS TO CONTINUE. SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... SATURDAY ANOTHER STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW SLIDES INTO THE SOUTHWEST STATES...COMBINED WITH THE SURFACE LOW TO THE SOUTH...THIS WILL CONTINUE TO PUMP AMPLE MOISTURE INTO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. WITH THE MORE IMPULSES RIDING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN JET STREAM...EXPECT ANOTHER GOOD SHOT OF RAIN ON SATURDAY. LINGERING CHANCES EXTEND INTO MONDAY...AS THE LOW OPENS AND LIFTS INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. TUESDAY APPEARS TO BE THE ONLY DRY DAY OUT OF THE SEVEN DAYS IN THE FORECAST. CCF PRELIMS... ABI 061/070/058/063 7576 SJT 063/072/060/065 6577 JCT 062/074/062/067 6446 .SJT...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR EAST OF A LINE FROM OZONA...TO SAN ANGELO...TO ABILENE. 24
TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139-140- 154-155-168>170-230100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 203 PM CDT TUE OCT 22 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE... THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS ALL OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. HOWEVER WIND SHEAR WILL BE SUFFICIENT FOR AN ISOLATED TORNADO WEST OF A LINE FROM SAN ANGELO TO OZONA. IN ADDITION...THERE WILL BE THE THREAT FOR HEAVY RAINS OVER MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS TONIGHT...AND FOR MORE INFORMATION...PLEASE REFER TO THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH THAT WILL BE ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS TONIGHT. THE CULPRIT FOR THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAINS WILL BE A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING INTO WEST TEXAS FROM MEXICO...COMBINED WITH A STATIONARY FRONT OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... A SIMILAR SITUATION IS EXPECTED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAINS WILL BE POSSIBLE ONCE AGAIN. OTHERWISE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE OFF AND ON THROUGH NEXT MONDAY AND THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY APPROACH SEVERE LEVELS AS WELL. 27/BRAZZELL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 flash flood, 2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rains in the upper end of Dove Creek caused rises that flowed over highway 915. This caused the roadway to wash out.
Heavy rains over the southern portions of Crockett county caused significant rises on the draws. Several low water crossings were flooded.
The South Llano River flooded the South Llano State Park and flowed over Highway 377 for almost a day and a half. The bulk of the water came from heavy rains that fell on the upper end of the South Llano River in Northern Edwards County. There were several waves of heavy rains over southern Kimble County that produced several rises on the river as well and kept the river elevated for a long period of time.
Heavy rains during the morning hours of the 24th dumped 2 to 4 inches of additional rain on already saturated soils. This produced significant flooding in the southwestern portion of Sutton County. Roads were once again impassible for the third time in the past month.
Heavy rains of 2 to 4 inches fell on already saturated soils in the southeastern part of Crockett County. Water levels that had receeded just hours before quickly rose to flood roads and produced new washouts.
Heavy rains once again fell on Sutton County resulting in rises of area creeks and streams. This resulted in numerous road closures across the county.
Heavy rains on the morning of the 25th caused rapid rises in streams across the southern portion of Schleicher County. Highway 864, along with numerous secondary roads, had to be closed for several hours due to the high water.
Heavy rains on the morning of the 25 th, fell across southern portions of Crockett County. These rains fell on extremely saturated soils and the runoff caused rapid rises that flooded roads and ranches across the area.
Heavy rains on the morning of the 25th caused rapid rises in the creeks and streams across Menard County. Highway 864, as well as several secondary roads, had to be closed for a time due to the high water. Schools were let out early in Menard due to the threat of flooding.
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, October 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: 5319298, 5319299, 5319297, 5319300, 5319301, 5319305, 5319302, 5319303, 5319304.