4 flash flood, 4 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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 1, 3:23 AM CST, 22 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
423 AM CDT MON SEP 1 2003
...INCREASING THREAT OF SOME FLOODING THIS EARLY MORNING ACROSS
COASTAL AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED SINCE MIDNIGHT ACROSS THE
COASTAL COUNTIES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS WHERE STRONG CONVERGENCE EXISTS.
VERY DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE (PRECIP WATER VALUES APPROACHING 2.50
INCHES) IS LEADING TO SOME HEFTY RADAR ESTIMATED RAINFALL TOTALS IN
THESE AREAS WITH ACTIVITY BEGINNING TO BUILD FURTHER INLAND MAINLY
EAST THROUGH NORTHEAST OF THE HOUSTON AREA. SIGNIFICANT TRAINING HAS
ALSO BEEN OCCURING ACROSS COASTAL MATAGORDA AND BRAZORIA COUNTIES...
AND IT APPEARS THAT THIS HEAVY RAIN THREAT IS BEGINNING TO SHIFT A
LITTLE TO THE EAST ACROSS GALVESTON AND HARRIS COUNTIES. THE HARDEST
HIT AREAS YESTERDAY...CHAMBERS AND LIBERTY COUNTIES...MAY SOON SEE
SOME MORE RAIN. SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW COOLING CLOUD TOPS EXPANDING
NORTHWARD INTO SOUTHEAST TEXAS. RADAR LOOPS SHOW CONVECTION EXTENING
ALL THE WAY DOWN THE TEXAS COAST TO EAST OF BAFFIN BAY. FLOOD THREAT
IS SIGNIFICANT EARLY THIS MORNING...AND WILL HAVE THE FLOOD WATCH IN
EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS TODAY. ALTHOUGH THERE IS NOT MUCH
GOING ON RIGHT NOW NORTH AND WEST OF THE HOUSTON AREA...BELIEVE THE
THREAT FOR HEAVY RAINFALL WILL EXIST LATER THIS MORNING AND ON INTO
THE AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY IF DAYTIME HEATING CAN ESTABLISH ITSELF.
RAINFALL TOTALS COULD AVERAGE 1 TO 3 INCHES WITH ISOLATED 4 TO 6
INCH AMOUNTS POSSIBLE BEFORE THE DAY COMES TO AN END.
DEEP MOISTURE LEVELS AND THE THREAT FOR PERIODS OF MORE RAIN SHOULD
CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. ONCE AGAIN...HARD TO PINPOINT
EXACTLY WHERE GREATEST RAIN CHANCES WILL BE. WILL LET THE DAY CREW
TRY TO FIGURE THAT ONE OUT. GOOD NEWS IS THAT MODELS ARE BEGINNING
TO AGREE ON A STRONG ENOUGH EASTERN U.S. UPPER TROUGH THAT WILL DRY
OUT OUR AREA FOR THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. WILL GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE
RAIN OUT OF SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AND CALL FOR SLIGHTLY COOLER MORNING
LOW TEMPERATURES. THIS COULD ACTUALLY BE OUR FIRST COLD FRONT OF THE
UPCOMING FALL SEASON. HELLO SEPTEMBER
THANKS AGAIN TO LCH FOR COORDINATION CALL.
42/46/34
.HGX...FLOOD WATCH ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS TODAY.
SCEC 00-60 NM WATERS.
PRELIMS...
CLL TT 084/072 089/072 091 656
IAH TT 085/074 090/073 091 856
GLS TT 086/078 088/079 088 956
---------------------------------------------------------------------
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION (144 AM CDT)...
HAVE DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND EXTEND THE FLOOD WATCH BACK DOWN TO THE
COAST DUE TO THE CURRENT FLARE UP (SEE FFAHGX). SOME LOCATIONS
ACROSS OUR UPPER TEXAS COASTAL COUNTIES RECEIVED BETWEEN 4 AND 12
INCHES OF RAIN YESTERDAY...AND IT WILL NOT TAKE A WHOLE LOT MORE TO
LEAD TO FLOODING. THE FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR TODAY FOR ALL OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THANKS LCH FOR COORDINATION. 42/46
---------------------------------------------------------------------
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION (114 AM CDT)...
DID A ZONE UPDATE TO RAISE COASTAL COUNTY POPS AND MAKE A COUPLE
OTHER 1ST PERIOD ADJUSTMENTS. MONITORING DEVELOPING CONVECTION ACROSS
THE COASTAL COUNTIES AND OVER THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. FAST
STORM MOTION IS KEEPING RAINFALL TOTALS SO FAR ON THE LIGHT SIDE...
BUT WILL HAVE TO WATCH IF SIGNIFICANT TRAINING DEVELOPS. MAY NEED TO
RECONFIGURE THE FLOOD WATCH A LITTLE FURTHER SOUTH AND EAST IF THESE
STORMS PERSIST OR INCREASE IN COVERAGE. A COASTAL WATERS FORECAST
UPDATE WAS ALSO MADE. 42/46GMZ330-335-350-355-370-375-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226- 227-235>238-011100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 700 AM CDT SUN AUG 31 2003 ...TROPICAL STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM HIGH ISLAND TO MATAGORDA BAY... ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THROUGH TONIGHT... ...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE THROUGH TONIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THIS MORNING FROM HIGH ISLAND TO MATAGORDA BAY. WEAK AND POORLY ORGANIZED TROPICAL STORM GRACE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INLAND ALONG THE MIDDLE TEXAS COAST LATER TODAY. WIDESPREAD SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS TODAY AND TONIGHT AS INFLOW OFF THE GULF CONTINUES. RAINFALL TOTALS THROUGH MIDNIGHT TONIGHT ARE EXPECTED TO AVERAGE AS HIGH AS 6 TO 8 INCHES WITH ISOLATED 8 TO 12 INCH AMOUNTS POSSIBLE WHERE THE BEST TRAINING DEVELOPS. PLEASE REFER TO HLSHOU AND FFAHGX FOR MORE DETAILS REGARDING THIS ONGOING FLOOD THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THE THREAT FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY SHIFT TO THE WEST ON MONDAY AFTERNOON. WESTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS MAY EXPERIENCE THE GREATEST THREAT FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THESE SAME WESTERN COUNTIES MAY CONTINUE TO BE UNDER THE GUN FOR HEAVY RAINFALL ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY AS THE REMNANTS OF GRACE MOVE SLOWLY IN AND AROUND THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY. SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR MIGHT FINALLY ENTER THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE NORTH TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION. PREPAREDNESS PLANS SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 flash flood, 4 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
Flooding in and around Matagorda, three homes flooded on South 60.
High water across Hwy 124 between Winnie and High Island.
High water across Hwy 87 on the Bolivar Peninsula. Street flooding around FM 518 and I-45.
Flooding on some county roads in and around Groveton.
Funnel cloud reported at Hwy 59 and Lum Road.
Funnel cloud reported between Egret Bay and League City.
Funnel cloud 2 miles south of Waller or 5 miles west of Hockley moving northeast.
Funnel cloud in Chappell Hill near Brenham off Hwy 290.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, September 2003
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: 5370957, 5370958, 5370959, 5371538, 5370960, 5370961, 5370962, 5370963.