Isolated showers had occurred over much of South Central Texas in advance of Tropical Storm Fay on Friday, Sept. 6.
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.
Isolated showers had occurred over much of South Central Texas in advance of Tropical Storm Fay on Friday, Sept. 6. Tropical storm Fay came ashore near Palacios, near 6 am CST on Saturday, Sept. 7. Rainfall, at first spotty, became widespread by mid morning. General ½ to 1 inch rains fell across the central parts of South Central Texas. Heavier amounts had fallen from Bandera to San Antonio to Uvalde that averaged between 1 and 2 inches, with isolated totals to near 6 inches. Flash flooding developed over Bandera, Bexar, Medina, and Uvalde Counties in the early afternoon, ending in the early evening.
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 Sep 7, 10:35 AM CST, 25 minutes earlier.
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1135 AM CDT SEP SEP 7 2002
BASED ON PROJECTED TRACK OF REMAINS OF FAY PLUS UNCERTAINTIES HAVE
RECONFIGURED FLASH FLOOD WATCH TO INCLUDE ALL OF CWA AND EXTENDED
UNTIL 6 AM SUNDAY. ALSO IN MIDDAY ZONE UPDATE WILL BOOST POPS WEST
AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO WINDS.
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
ANALYSIS...
ITS STILL ALL ABOUT FAY. IN THE PAST 24HRS...FAYS LOW LEVEL CENTER
HAS DRIFTED WWD...AS NOTED BY THE SHIFT OF BUOY19 WINDS FROM NE TO
SW...AND GREATEST LOW LEVEL PRESSURE FALLS IN THE SWRN GULF. ALSO...
FAY HAS MOVED FROM UNDER THE H2 ANTICYCLONE AND CLOSER TO THE UPPER
CYCLONIC SHEAR ALONG THE TX COAST. THIS COULD HALT FURTHER DEEPENING
AND LOWER CHANCES OF A CORE RAIN SAT NITE. FAYS NWWD TRACK HAS BEEN
SLOWED BY A STRONG MID LEVEL RIDGE OVER CENTRAL TX. STILL...PRECIP
HAS BEGUN AND FAYS RAIN SHIELD IS SPREADING NWD INTO OUR SERN CWA.
THE MODELS...
AVN AND ETA DRIVE FAY WNWWD THRU TONITE...THEN STALL IT OVER SC TX
SUN INTO TUE...WITH THE AVN A BIT FASTER ON SPEED THAN THE ETA. AS
WITH THE FRI RUNS...THE DEEPEST MOISTURE AND HEAVIEST RAIN REMAIN TO
THE N AND E OF FAYS TRACK...AS IS THE CASE CURRENTLY.
FORECAST TODAY...
INCREASING RAIN CHANCES ALL AREAS TODAY. POPS ARE HIGHEST OVER THE
COASTAL PLAINS...DECREASING WWD. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL CONTINUE
ALONG AND EAST OF I35 THRU TODAY...AND WILL LIKELY BE EXPANDED IN
TIME AND AREA LATER THIS AFTN. EVEN WITHOUT A CORE RAIN...WE COULD
EASILY SEE 6 TO 8 INCH TOTALS FROM THE TROPICAL DOWNPOURS. HIGHS
TODAY WILL RANGE FROM 80S EAST TO 90S WEST.
FORECAST FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY...
A CONTINUED THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN INTO MON...AREAWIDE. ANOTHER 6 TO 8
INCHES OF RAIN ARE POSSIBLE...WITH THE LOCATIONS DEPENDING ON FAYS
TRACK. RAIN AND CLOUDS WILL HOLD TEMPS IN THE 80S.
FORECAST FOR TUESDAY...
RAIN CHANCES LOWER SLOWLY...WITH CLOUDS DECREASING AS WELL. HIGHS AT
MOST LOCATIONS BACK NEAR 90 BY WED...IN THE 90S THU. LOWS IN THE 70S.
PRELIMS...
AUS 088/070 086/069 086 87856
DRT 092/072 088/070 088 23443
SAT 088/072 087/070 086 87856
.EWX...FF WATCH THROUGH 6 AM SUNDAY ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
AND THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY.
TORNADO WATCH FOR LEE AND FAYETTE COUNTIES UNTIL 4 PM.
3/13/23The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
General 1 to 2 inch rainfall with isolated totals to 3 inches. No damage was indicated.
General 2 inch rainfall with isolated totals to 4 inches. Minor damage to roads and bridges.
General 2 inch rainfall with isolated totals to 6 inches. Damage to roads and bridges.
General 2 inch rainfall with isolated totals to 4 inches. Minor damage to roads and bridges.
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: 5320536, 5320537, 5320538, 5320539.