3 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 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 Sep 19, 1:10 PM CST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 210 PM CDT THU SEP 19 2002 BANDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING OVER CWFA AND PRONOUNCED BAND FROM WESTERN HARRIS TO NORTHERN LIBERTY COUNTIES PRODUCING ABOUT AN INCH PER HOUR EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDING FROM BETWEEN ARD AND SPS BETWEEN BWD AND SJ. PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH BETWEEN DRT AND LRD NORTH TO THE HILL COUNTRY. UNSTABLE AIR MASS WITH HIGH PW VALUES ABOUT 2 INCHES AND PASSING WEAK UPPER LEVEL IMPULSE WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA OVER REGION. FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXPECTED TO PRODUCE SQUALL LINE TYPE SCENARIO COMING FROM THE W/NW LATER THIS EVENING AND MOVING ACROSS CWFA OVERNIGHT. IT APPEARS THAT FRONT SHOULD MOVE ACROSS IAH AROUND 4 AM TOMORROW...AND SHOULD BE NEAR THE COAST AROUND 6 AM. BEST UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT WILL BE OVER NORTHERN ZONES WHICH IS CLOSER TO ENTRANCE REGION OF UPPER LEVEL JET. THIS IS WHERE WE EXPECT BETTER CHANCES FOR SEVERE WEATHER. WE WILL CONTINUE W/SLIGHT CHANCE SEVERE FOR ALL ZONES TONIGHT (SEE SWODY1) ALONG W/POSSIBLE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. WE WILL LOWER SCA TO CAUTION FOR COASTAL WATERS AS SOMEWHAT FLATTER PRESSURE GRADIENT IS INDICATED BY MODELS AND CURRENT TRENDS INDICATE SAME. AFTER FROPA...OFFSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. SECONDARY COLD FRONT SHOULD APPROACH OUR REGION LATE SUNDAY REINFORCING DRY NORTHERLY FLOW IN PLACE. SWELLS FROM ISIDORE SHOULD BE AFFECTING COASTAL WATERS MAINLY OFFSHORE REGION BY SUNDAY. AT LEAST FOR NOW...WEEKEND LOOKS GREAT W/PWATS UNDER AN INCH...AND THIS SCENARIO MAY LAST FOR SEVERAL MORE DAYS THEREAFTER. PLEASE SEE TCDAT5 FOR TPC DISCUSSION ON ISIDORE. .HGX...SCEC 0 TO 60 NM COASTAL WATERS. CLL BU 067/086 060/086 062 710 IAH BU 070/086 061/087 062 630 GLS TU 076/085 072/085 072 650 37/35
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-200900- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 330 PM CDT THU SEP 19 2002 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE THROUGH TONIGHT... A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS IN PLACE OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS...AND A PASSING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL RESULT IN THE CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE REGION. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE REGION FROM THE WEST. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO ENTER THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS DURING THE LATE EVENING HOURS AND REACH THE COAST DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ON FRIDAY. AHEAD OF THE FRONT...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND MOVE NORTHWARD. A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP NEAR AND ALONG THE FRONT. AS THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVES ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS TONIGHT...THERE WILL BE A THREAT OF LARGE HAIL AND STRONG DAMAGING WINDS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED OVER MUCH OF THE AREA THROUGH TONIGHT AS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES AND THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY INTERACT WITH TROPICAL MOISTURE OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS. LOCALIZED RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER WEATHER NEWS SOURCES FOR LATER STATEMENTS CONCERNING THIS SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAIN THREAT.
The Houston radar (KHGX), 80 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:01 UTC.
3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flooding in Liberty and Dayton; portions of Hwy 90 closed in Liberty.
Many roads under water and impassable especially north of downtown Houston and near the west loop.
High water in and around League City.
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, September 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: 5315380, 5315381, 5315382.