Texas, 2003Flash Flooding in Texas, September 3, 2003
September 3, 2003 · NWS EWX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones
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.
- 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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $30,000
- 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 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 Austin/San Antonio, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 3, 9:35 AM CST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 9:35 AM CST, 1 hour 55 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1035 AM CDT WED SEP 3 2003
THE WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY CONTINUES TO GENERATE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS THROUGHOUT THE EASTERN HALF OF THE COUNTY WARNING
AREA. MESO-ETA ADVECTS NVA OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PORTIONS
THIS AFTERNOON VIA UPPER RIDGES CIRCULATION PATTERN. THUS...LEFT
LOWER POPS NORTH AND CENTRAL PORTIONS THE SAME ON THE UPDATE DESPITE
MORE NUMEROUS ACTIVITY AT PRESENT.
02/18/JB
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION.........
THE WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY CONTS ACRS THE CWA THIS MORNING SEPARATING
THE TROPICAL AMS FROM THE DRIER AIR TO THE NORTH. MUCH LESS SHOWER
ACTIVITY THIS MORNING WITH A WEAKENED FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND SLIGHTLY
MORE INFLUENCE FROM THE UPR RDG. WILL LET THE FFA EXPIRE THIS
MORNING HOWEVER COULD STILL SEE SOME LOCALIZED HEAVY RAIN FROM SCT
SLOW MOVING SHRA/TSRA TDA IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES WHERE PWS REMAIN
WELL ABV 2 INCHES. SIMILAR TEMPS TDA AS YDA...PERHAPS A FEW DEGREES
WARMER IN THE WEST PWS HAVE LOWER TO NEAR 1.5 INCHES. FOR THURSDAY
THE UPR FLOW BCMS MORE MORE NLY...STRENGTHENING THE SFC RDG OVR TX
AND DRIVING THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY SOUTHWARD TO THE COAST. WILL CONT
WITH CHC POPS MAINLY OVER THE ERN/SERN CWA FOR THU/THU EVENING.
BY FRI AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...GFS/ECMWF INDICATE A DRIER NLY
FLOW PREVAILING WITH ONLY SHALLOW MOISTURE...AND THEREFORE CONTD NO
POP FORECAST BEYOND FRI WITH SLIGHTLY COOLER MORE FALL LIKE MINTS.
1/13
PRELIMS...
AUS EB 090/068 088/067 089 323
BUBBB 064/088 059/091 063/092 067/092 3000000000
DRT BB 092/072 092/070 090 112
UUBBB 071/093 069/090 068/091 071/092 2000000000
SAT EE 090/073 089/070 090 323
BUBBB 069/088 066/089 067/088 070/090 3000000000
.EWX...NONE.Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 3, 4:24 AM CST, 7 hours 6 minutes before
TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-041100-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
524 AM CDT WED SEP 3 2003
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.
.DAY ONE...TODAY
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
Flash Flood, Atascosa
- When
- September 3, 11:30 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
- Where
- Atascosa County, South Portion
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 28.894, -98.527 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
After the soaking rains of September 1 and 2, soils over Atascosa, DeWitt and Lavaca Counties were generally saturated. As additional rainfall developed in the late morning of September 3, flash flooding developed very quickly and continued into the mid afternoon. This time the heaviest rainfall was over the southern parts of Atascosa and DeWitt Counties and over the western part of Lavaca County, where general 1 inch rainfall was reported with isolated totals to 3 inches in Atascosa and Lavaca Counties and 4 inches in DeWitt County. Flash flooding spread across all of the 3 counties. Damage was reported only to roads and bridges.
Flash Flood, Lavaca
- When
- September 3, 12:30 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST
- Where
- Lavaca County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 29.384, -96.930 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
After the soaking rains of September 1 and 2, soils over Atascosa, DeWitt and Lavaca Counties were generally saturated. As additional rainfall developed in the late morning of September 3, flash flooding developed very quickly and continued into the mid afternoon. This time the heaviest rainfall was over the southern parts of Atascosa and DeWitt Counties and over the western part of Lavaca County, where general 1 inch rainfall was reported with isolated totals to 3 inches in Atascosa and Lavaca Counties and 4 inches in DeWitt County. Flash flooding spread across all of the 3 counties. Damage was reported only to roads and bridges.
Flash Flood, De Witt
- When
- September 3, 1:00 PM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- De Witt County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 29.082, -97.357 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
After the soaking rains of September 1 and 2, soils over Atascosa, DeWitt and Lavaca Counties were generally saturated. As additional rainfall developed in the late morning of September 3, flash flooding developed very quickly and continued into the mid afternoon. This time the heaviest rainfall was over the southern parts of Atascosa and DeWitt Counties and over the western part of Lavaca County, where general 1 inch rainfall was reported with isolated totals to 3 inches in Atascosa and Lavaca Counties and 4 inches in DeWitt County. Flash flooding spread across all of the 3 counties. Damage was reported only to roads and bridges.
- 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.
- High Surf in Puerto Rico, September 3 to 4, 20031 death · $30,000 · 2 events
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, September 3 to 4, 2003$5.0 million · 1 event
- Wildfire in California, September 3 to 30, 2003$64,000 · 1 event
- Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in West Virginia, September 3 to 4, 2003$50,000 · 2 events
- Wildfire in California, September 3, 2003$50,000 · 1 event
- Debris Flow and Hail in California, September 3, 2003$25,000 · 0.5 in hail · 4 events
- Flash Flood in Arizona, September 3, 20031 injured · $15,000 · 1 event
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Maryland, September 3 to 4, 2003$20,000 · 3 events
- Lightning Strike in Pennsylvania, September 3, 2003$20,000 · 1 event
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Virginia, September 3, 2003$2,000 · 50 kt wind · 8 events
- Lightning Strikes in Oregon, September 3, 20037 events
- Wildfire in California, September 3 to 30, 20033 events
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: 5336871, 5336953, 5336952.