Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Texas, August 22, 2008

Name: Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Texas, August 22, 2008
Start: 2008-08-22T18:37
End: 2008-08-22T21:45
Location: Texas

August 22, 2008 · NWS BRO · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

Another vigorous upper level disturbance dropped southward from western Texas into Northern Mexico, contributing to the development of another complex of strong thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening of August 22nd across already waterlogged southwestern Starr County, extending northward into southern and central Zapata County. This complex once again dropped torrential rains in the…

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $16,000
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 happened

The episode as NWS BRO wrote it up.

This complex once again dropped torrential rains in the middle Rio Grande Valley/Rio Grande Plains, this time favoring locations from Roma to points north and west, extending Ciudad Aleman, Mexico on the other side of the Rio Grande, and northward along Federal Highway 83 toward Falcon Heights and into Zapata County near the river.

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 Brownsville, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 22, 3:50 PM CST, 2 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 3:50 PM CST, 2 hours 47 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
450 PM CDT FRI AUG 22 2008

.DISCUSSION...HAVE ISSUED AN FFA FOR THE WESTERN FOUR COUNTIES DUE
TO THE CURRENT AREAS OF CONV COVERGING OVER THE REGION. NO OTHER
ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO THE CURRENT FORECAST PACKAGE.
&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 105 PM CDT FRI AUG 22 2008/

DISCUSSION...RAPID SHRA/TSRA DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES GENERALLY ALONG
A LINE FROM THOMPSONVILLE...IN JIM HOGG COUNTY...TO ENCINO TO PORT
MANSFIELD. ALSO...TSTMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE BRO/SPI AIRPORT.
AFTER ANALYSIS OF CURRENT MDL DATA...CURRENT RADAR AND SATELLITE
IMAGES...MANUAL PROGS FROM HPC...AND CRP SOLUTION TO SYNOPTIC
SITUATION...HAVE INCREASED POPS AND QPF TO MARRY WITH CRP FCST AND
ISSUED A SIMILAR SPS TO HEIGHTEN FLOOD THREAT. MVMT OF UPPER LOW NOW
WEST OF THE TX BIG BEND IN ADJ MEXICO WILL BE THE MAIN INFLUENCE ON
WHERE HVY RAINFALL DEVELOPS. ATTM...MDLS ARE SHUNTING ITS INFLUENCE
A BIT WEST...BUT GENEROUS CONVECTION IS STILL BEING EXPERIENCED FAR
FROM ITS CENTRAL LOCATION. BRO U/A AT 12Z SHOWED NO CAP WITH 2.26
INCHES OF PWATS...48 TTS AND -8.5 LIS IN 5.1K J/KG OF CAPE. HAVE
SKEWED TO CRP GRIDS WITH SPS MENTIONING THE POSSIBILITY OF FLOODING
TNGT AND SATURDAY.

MARINE...BUOY 42020 REPORTED SOUTHEAST WINDS 8 TO 10 KNOTS WITH
SEAS 3.3 FEET WITH A 5 SECOND PERIOD. WEAK SURFACE LOW PRESSURE WILL
PERSIST OVER THE WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL
DAYS. THIS PATTERN WILL PRODUCE LIGHT TO MODERATE WINDS AND LOW TO
MODERATE SEAS ALONG THE LOWER TEXAS COAST TODAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT
WEEK. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE
OVER THE AREA FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE REGIONAL AIRPORTS
WITH TEMPO MVFR CIGS/VSBYS IN ANY SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE NEXT
24 HOURS.  LIGHT TO MODERATE SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL BE THE RULE
THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
BAYVIEW/PORT ISABEL  77  89  77  90 /  30  50  30  30
BROWNSVILLE          76  90  76  93 /  40  60  30  30
HARLINGEN            76  91  76  94 /  40  60  40  30
MCALLEN              78  91  78  96 /  50  60  50  30
RIO GRANDE CITY      77  95  77  95 /  70  60  60  60
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND   80  87  80  89 /  30  50  20  20

&&

.BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH
SATURDAY MORNING FOR TXZ248-249-252-253.
&&

THIS PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT:
HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BROWNSVILLE

SYNOPTIC/GRIDS...60
MARINE/AVIATION...64
MESO/FXC...HART

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 22, 3:20 PM CST, 3 hours 17 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION FOR TYPO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
420 PM CDT FRI AUG 22 2008

GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-TXZ248>257-231100-
LAGUNA MADRE FROM THE PORT OF BROWNSVILLE TO THE ARROYO COLORADO-
LAGUNA MADRE FROM THE ARROYO COLORADO TO 5 NM NORTH OF PORT
MANSFIELD TX-
LAGUNA MADRE FROM 5 NM NORTH OF PORT MANSFIELD TO BAFFIN BAY TX-
COASTAL WATERS FROM PORT MANSFIELD TO THE RIO GRANDE OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM BAFFIN BAY TO PORT MANSFIELD OUT 20 NM-
WATERS FROM PORT MANSFIELD TO THE RIO GRANDE EXTENDING FROM 20 TO
60 NM-
WATERS FROM BAFFIN BAY TO PORT MANSFIELD EXTENDING FROM 20 TO
60 NM-ZAPATA-JIM HOGG-BROOKS-KENEDY-STARR-HIDALGO-INLAND WILLACY-
INLAND CAMERON-COASTAL WILLACY-COASTAL CAMERON-
420 PM CDT FRI AUG 22 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS...THE GULF
OF MEXICO AND THE LAGUNA MADRE.

.DAY ONE...REST OF TODAY AND TONIGHT.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ZAPATA...JIM HOGG...STARR AND
HIDALGO COUNTIES THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING...AS THE TROPICAL AIRMASS
OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS INTERACTS WITH UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES
EJECTED BY AN UPPER LOW FORMING JUST WEST OF THE TEXAS BIG BEND.
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE WESTERN
AREAS OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES ARE
ALSO POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT TONIGHT WITHIN THE WATCH AREA. THESE
AMOUNTS COULD EASILY SATURATE SOILS..RESULTING IN EXCESSIVE RUNOFF
AND FLOODING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY RAINFALL
WILL CONTINUE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. FLASH FLOOD ADVISORIES AND
WARNINGS ARE POSSIBLE FOR THIS TIME PERIOD.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTERS MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED TONIGHT.

PHILO/SPEECE

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 200 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:35 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Zapata

When: August 22, 6:37 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where: Zapata County, 4 mi WNW of Zapata to 1.41 mi N of Zapata
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Fire Department/Rescue
Coordinates: 26.922, -99.290

Developing thunderstorms that initially affected Starr County during the late afternoon of the 22nd gradually spread north, generally along Federal Highway 83, helping to develop other torrential rains into western Zapata County. The Zapata fire department reported widespread flooding in the town of Zapata, ongoing at 730 PM CDT. There was likely additional road flooding along portions of Federal Highway 83 between the Falcon Dam area and Zapata, where some of the heavier rains developed, into the mid evening.

Flash Flood, Starr

When: August 22, 7:30 PM CST to 9:45 PM CST
Where: Starr County, 1 mi SW of Roma to 2 mi N of Falcon Hgts
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 26.410, -99.031

Numerous thunderstorms developing in Starr and Zapata County during the late afternoon of the 22nd merged into a relatively small, but intense, complex across extreme western and southwestern Starr County, extending from across the west side of Roma northward toward, but just south, of Falcon Dam. Thankfully for residents living in the east side of Roma, extending into Escobares and Garce o, these torrential rains - estimated to be at least 7 inches or more in a few spots - never stretched east toward previously swollen arroyos from the east side of Roma toward Escobares and Garceno.

While these torrential rains caused widespread street flooding in the western and northwestern portions of Roma (along the northward bend in Highway 83), as reported by law enforcement, no structures were threatened. Lighter rains followed overnight into early Saturday in Starr County, with little additional impact.

The heaviest rains, perhaps nearing 9 inches, fell just across the Rio Grande in Ciudad Aleman, Mexico. No information on impacts to this location was received by the NWS office in Brownsville.

Lightning, Starr

When: August 22, 8:04 PM CST to 8:10 PM CST
Where: Starr County, 0.84 mi ENE of Los Saenz
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 26.405, -98.988

The Roma police department reported the police station was hit by a lightning strike at little after 9 PM CDT, which damaged equipment. The police radios sustained damage.

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.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Texas in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, August 2008

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: 131771, 131772, 131774.