Flash Flooding in Texas, September 16 to 19, 2002

Name: Flash Flooding in Texas, September 16 to 19, 2002
Start: 2002-09-16T17:55
End: 2002-09-19T23:05
Location: Texas

September 16 to 19, 2002 · NWS CRP · 4 events in 2 counties and zones

4 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

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.

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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 Corpus Christi, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 16, 2:00 PM CST, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 16, 2:00 PM CST, 3 hours 55 minutes before

COASTAL BEND FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
300 PM CDT MON SEP 16 2002

SHORT-TERM...ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA THROUGH
TONIGHT WITH AREAS OF DEEP CONVECTION CONTINUING OVER THE COASTAL
WATERS, AS WELL AS WEBB, AND DUVAL COUNTIES. CONVECTION WILL ADVECT
NORTH-NORTHEAST THROUGH TONIGHT PRODUCING PERIODS OF MODERATE TO
HEAVY RAINFALL. MODELS KEEP PWATS ABOVE 2.00 INCHES OVER THE COASTAL
BENDS THROUGH TUESDAY. THE MOIST AND UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT COMBINED
WITH A VORTICITY MAXIMA WILL GENERATE STRONG POSITIVE OMEGA AND
RESULT IN SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS INTO TUESDAY.
WILL CONTINUE THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH TONIGHT WITH AN
ADDITIONAL 2 TO 4 INCHES AND LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. WILL RETAIN
SLIGHT CHANCE POPS TUESDAY NIGHT AS SUFFICIENT MOISTURE/INSTABILITY
LINGERS.

LONG-TERM...WILL SEE DRIER AIR MOVE INTO THE CWA THURSDAY/FRIDAY.
BUT...ANOTHER WEAK COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA
SATURDAY/SUNDAY. IT APPEARS THE FRONT WILL STALL JUST NORTH OF THE
CWA BUT WILL RETAIN SLIGHT CHANCE POPS AS MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES MAY
INFLUENCE THE AREA.

MARINE...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE OVER WATERS THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.  A COASTAL TROUGH WILL
GRADUALLY BE SHIFTED WESTWARD AS WEAK HIGH PRESSURE DEVELOPS OVER
THE NORTH CENTRAL GULF. EASTERLY WINDS WILL VEER TO THE SOUTH LATE
TONIGHT...AND A WEAK TO MODERATE SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL PREVAIL THROUGH
LATE THURSDAY.  ANOTHER COLD FRONT IS PROGGED TO APPROACH SOUTH
TEXAS ON FRIDAY...IN RESPONSE NORTHEAST TO EAST WINDS WILL BECOME
ESTABLISHED.  NO FLAGS EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS:
CRP TW 072/088 076/091 075 652
VCT TW 073/088 075/090 074 652
LRD TW 074/090 077/094 076 54-

.CRP...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TXZ229>234-239>247 UNTIL 10Z TUESDAY.

71/78

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 5 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:55 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Nueces

When: September 16, 5:55 PM CST to 6:55 PM CST
Where: Nueces County, Robstown Co Arpt
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 27.735, -97.516 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Nueces

When: September 17, 5:30 PM CST to 6:30 PM CST
Where: Nueces County, Petronila
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 27.735, -97.516 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Duval

When: September 19, 6:14 PM CST to 7:14 PM CST
Where: Duval County, South Central Portion
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 27.681, -98.509 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Nueces

When: September 19, 10:05 PM CST to 11:05 PM CST
Where: Nueces County, Central Portion
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 27.735, -97.516 (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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, September 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: 5318497, 5318498, 5318500, 5318499.