Texas, 2003

Flash Flooding in Texas, June 10, 2003

June 10, 2003 · NWS CRP · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

An outflow boundary (from an earlier squall line over the Rio Grande Plains) pushed into the Coastal Bend and stalled. The boundary provided good covergence with the low level jet set up along the coast.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 happened

The episode as NWS CRP wrote it up.

An outflow boundary (from an earlier squall line over the Rio Grande Plains) pushed into the Coastal Bend and stalled. The boundary provided good covergence with the low level jet set up along the coast. Convection was enhanced by an upper level shortwave, which was traversing the south-central part of the state, and upper level divergence with the sub-tropical jet nosing into the region. Deep moisture from the Gulf of Mexico was in place with morning soundings indicating precipitable water values near 2 inches. Training of thunderstorms occured primarily over portions of Kleberg, central and eastern Nueces, and southern San Patricio Counties. CRP WSR-88D estimated the heaviest rainfall of 3-4 inches to have fallen in Corpus Christi between Rodd Field Road and Airline and near Ocean Drive and Airline. Widespread 2-3 inch amounts were indicated by doppler radar over the south and central parts of the city and along South Padre Island Drive.

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 Jun 10, 10:05 AM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 10, 10:05 AM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes before
COASTAL BEND FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
1105 AM CDT TUE JUN 10 2003

UPDATE...
SFC ANALYSIS DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 70S ALONG THE COASTAL BEND THIS
MORNING AND 12Z SOUNDINGS CONFIRM A HIGH MOISTURE/UNSTABLE
ENVIRONMENT WITH PWATS PUSHING 2 INCHES. RUC ANALYSIS/WV IMAGERY
SHOW A S/WV ACROSS THE HILL COUNTRY SOUTH TO THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS
MVG EAST ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF A WEAK 70 KNOT JET NOSING ACROSS
NRN MEX INTO S TX. RADAR LOOKS AS YOU WOULD EXPECT GIVEN THIS
SCENARIO W/ SCT RW/TRWS ACROSS MOST OF THE REGION...AND NOT SURE WHY
MODELS (INCLUDING THE LATEST 12Z RUNS) ARE NOT HANDLING RAINFALL
PROSPECTS WELL TDY. THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX MVG INTO WRN ZONES HAS
WEAKENED AFTER PRODUCING SOME MESOS AND BOWS EARLIER THIS MORNING
BUT STILL PRODUCING HEAVY RAINFALL. STORM TOTALS HAVE EXCEEDED 2
INCHES ACROSS MUCH OF WEB AND LASALLE COUNTIES AND RADAR INDICATES
ISOLATED 4 INCH TOTALS IN LASALLE COUNTY.

OUTFLOW FM EARLIER STORMS OUT WEST WILL PUSH EAST AND TOWARDS THE
COAST. I THINK THIS WILL DISRUPT ANY SEA BREEZE FORMATION...CAUSING
INCREASED MOISTURE CONVERGENCE ALONG THE COAST. EARLIER UPDATES
INCREASED POPS...BUT MAY NEED TO BUMP UP THE COASTAL BEND FURTHER.
WRN ZONES SHOULD SEE IMPROVEMENT BY EARLY AFTN AS THE S/WV CLEARS TO
THE EAST AND WILL INDICATE THOSE TRENDS. WILL HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT
TEMPS W/ ALL THE CLOUDS AND RAIN IN THE AREA. MAIN THREAT FROM TSTMS
TODAY WILL CONTINUE TO BE HEAVY RAINFALL.

.CRP...NONE.

MJG-88/SHORT-TERM
TMT-89/LONG-TERM
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 10, 10:55 AM CST, 20 minutes before
TXZ229>234-239>244-246-247-102200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
1155 AM CDT TUE JUN 10 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WILL CONTINUE TO SHIFT FROM THE RIO GRANDE
PLAINS EAST TO THE COASTAL BEND. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE THE MAIN
THREAT FROM STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AS ACTIVITY TENDS TO TRAIN OVER
THE SAME AREAS MAINLY ALONG THE COASTAL BEND. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL
AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE LIKELY ACROSS THE COASTAL BEND AND
ISOLATED TOTALS MAY APPROACH 4 INCHES. IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAINFALL
STORMS WILL PRODUCE OCCASIONAL DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES AND WINDS
GUSTING TO 30 TO 40 MPH AT TIMES. FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED
ACROSS THE COASTAL BEND THIS MORNING...HOWEVER THESE ARE TROPICAL
FUNNELS AND THE ATMOSPHERE IS NOT CONDUCIVE FOR TORNADO DEVELOPMENT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

MOSTLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL EXIST
THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING AND AGAIN FRIDAY NIGHT. SOME OF STORMS MAY
CONTAIN BRIEF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL...BRIEF GUSTY WINDS AND
OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING FRIDAY NIGHT...AS AN ORGANIZED AREA OF
CONVECTION MOVES SOUTHEAST FROM THE HILL COUNTRY. THE CHANCE FOR
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE AGAIN EARLY NEXT WEEK ALONG
THE SEABREEZE BOUNDARY.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY THROUGH
FRIDAY ACROSS ALL THE WATERS DUE TO A THERMAL LOW ACROSS WEST
TEXAS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED...HOWEVER PLEASE REPORT ANY
AREAS OF FLOODING OR RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF THREE INCHES.

MJG

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 5 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:12 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Nueces

When
June 10, 11:15 AM CST to 2:15 PM CST
Where
Nueces County, Corpus Christi
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
27.735, -97.516 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Corpus Christi Police Department reported flooding of the access roads along South Padre Island Drive around Everhart. Additional widespread flooding was reported on various roads through the central and southern sections of the city. Four inches of rain was reported to have fallen by the public near Airline and Alemeda in Corpus Christi.

Flash Flood, San Patricio

When
June 10, 1:15 PM CST to 2:15 PM CST
Where
San Patricio County, 3 mi SE of Gregory
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
28.009, -97.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flooding reported along State Highway 361.

Flash Flood, Kleberg

When
June 10, 1:15 PM CST to 2:15 PM CST
Where
Kleberg County, 3 mi WSW of Loyola Beach
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
27.427, -97.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flooding reported along County Road 620.

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

More

Every storm in Texas in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, June 2003

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: 5364048, 5364049, 5364050.