NOUS44 KHGX 152123
PNSHOU
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
420 PM CDT FRI JUN 15 2001

...JUNE 2001 NOW THE WETTEST MONTH ON RECORD IN HOUSTON...

HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT RECEIVED 1.31 INCHES OF RAIN FROM 
THIS MORNING'S THUNDERSTORMS. THIS BRINGS THE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION 
TOTAL TO 17.82 INCHES...MAKING JUNE 2001 THE WETTEST MONTH ON RECORD 
IN HOUSTON. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS A HURRICANE-ENHANCED 17.64 
INCHES...SET IN OCTOBER OF 1949.

A LOOK AT RAINFALL TOTALS DURING TROPICAL STORM ALLISON...

    PORT OF HOUSTON             36.99
    PEARLAND (CLOVER FIELD)     21.41
    HOUSTON HOBBY               20.84
    DEER PARK                   20.53
    WESTBURY                    19.53
    LEAGUE CITY (NWS)           19.41
    CONROE                      17.48
    HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL    16.48
    TOMBALL (HOOKS AIRPORT)     15.02
    HUNTSVILLE (COOP OBSERVER)  13.03
    ANAHUAC                     13.01
    SUGARLAND (HULL AIRPORT)    12.17
    JAMAICA BEACH               11.99
    ALVIN                       11.23
    BAYTOWN                      9.83
    GALVESTON                    9.77
    ANGLETON/LAKE JACKSON        3.66
    BRYAN/COLLEGE STATION        3.49
    PALACIOS                     3.35

FROM THE HARRIS COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT...

    GREENS BAYOU AT WEST MT. HOUSTON        35.67
    WESTHEIMER AND KIRBY                    33.00
    HUNTING BAYOU AT I-10                   32.91
    COWART CREEK AT BAKER (FRIENDSWOOD)     25.98
    VINCE BAYOU AT WEST ELLAINE             25.31
    GARNERS BAYOU AT BELTWAY 8 SOUTH        24.61
    GREENS BAYOU AT US HIGHWAY 59           23.58
    BUFFALO BAYOU AT TURNING BASIN          23.54
    CLEAR CREEK AT TELEPHONE ROAD           20.04
    BRAYS BAYOU AT STELLA LINK              19.72
    WHITE OAK BAYOU AT ELLA                 18.19

WHILE THE RAINS ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL STORM ALLISON WERE 
TREMENDOUS...SOUTHEAST TEXAS IS NO STRANGER TO HEAVY RAIN EVENTS. 
IN THE PAST 25 YEARS...THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL TROPICAL SYSTEMS AND 
OTHER FLOODING EVENTS. THE FOLLOWING IS A LOOK AT HOW ALLISON OF 
2001 COMPARES TO THESE PREVIOUS EVENTS.

(THE FOLLOWING DATA IS STORM-TOTAL PRECIPITATION FROM HISTORIC HEAVY 
RAIN EVENTS. MOST OF THE TOTALS ARE FROM 3- TO 5-DAY PERIODS. 
ALTHOUGH SOME ARE OF SHORTER OR SOMEWHAT LONGER DURATION...THE 
TOTALS INCLUDED HERE ATTEMPT TO ENCOMPASS AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE 
THE EVENT OF INTEREST.)

====================================================================

THE MOST RECENT HEAVY RAIN EVENTS WERE IN 1998. ENDING A SEVERE 
DROUGHT...TROPICAL STORM FRANCES IN SEPTEMBER PRODUCED THE MOST 
IMPRESSIVE RAINFALL TOTALS OF A WET AUTUMN.

    ANGLETON         19.47       LEAGUE CITY      11.49
    BAY CITY         17.14       CLODINE          10.79
    HOUSTON-HEIGHTS  15.25       BAYTOWN          10.40
    NORTH HOUSTON    14.70       INTERCONTINENTAL  9.33
    SPRING BRANCH    14.25       DEER PARK         9.02
    CYPRESS          12.84       TOMBALL           8.22
    KATY             12.80       HUNTSVILLE        6.87
    SUGAR LAND       12.58       CONROE            4.89

OTHER HEAVY RAIN EVENTS FOLLOWED...ONE IN OCTOBER OF 1998...

    CYPRESS          11.04       INTERCONTINENTAL  5.87
    TOMBALL          10.13       CROCKETT          5.75
    CONROE            9.30       HUNTSVILLE        5.14
    ALVIN             7.12       LEAGUE CITY       2.87

AND ANOTHER IN NOVEMBER OF 1998...

    TOMBALL          10.89       INTERCONTINENTAL  8.10
    CONROE           10.80       SUGAR LAND        7.75
    HOUSTON-HEIGHTS   9.24       NORTH HOUSTON     7.34
    HUNTSVILLE        8.82       LEAGUE CITY       4.28
    HOUSTON-BARKER    8.38

====================================================================

PERHAPS THE MOST WIDESPREAD EVENT OCCURRED IN OCTOBER OF 1994... 
WITH ABUNDANT TROPICAL MOISTURE...BUT WITHOUT THE AID OF A TROPICAL 
CYCLONE.

    LIBERTY          26.37       TOMBALL          14.82
    BAYTOWN          25.66       HUNTSVILLE       14.10
    CONROE           23.89       NORTH HOUSTON    12.28
    SAN JACINTO DAM  21.77       SUGAR LAND       11.86
    PORT OF HOUSTON  21.23       HOUSTON-HEIGHTS  10.33
    DEER PARK        18.48       ANAHUAC          10.31
    HOBBY AIRPORT    18.03       INTERCONTINENTAL  9.50
    WESTBURY         15.58       LEAGUE CITY       4.36

====================================================================

ONE OF THE MOST RECENT HURRICANES TO MENACE THE UPPER TEXAS 
COAST...HURRICANE CHANTAL...BROUGHT SOME MEMORABLE RAINS TO SOME 
LOCATIONS IN LATE JULY AND EARLY AUGUST OF 1989.

    THOMPSONS         9.56       ALVIN             8.29
    HOBBY AIRPORT     8.66       GALVESTON         6.56
    SUGAR LAND        8.60       TOMBALL           2.82
    WESTBURY          8.30       INTERCONTINENTAL  2.14

MORE MEMORABLE HOWEVER WAS THE FIRST...BUT SOMEWHAT LESS 
DEVASTATING...TROPICAL STORM ALLISON. ALLISON OF 1989 ALSO STALLED 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS...BRINGING REPEATED HEAVY RAINS TO THE REGION 
DURING LATE JUNE AND EARLY JULY. ODDLY...BOTH ALLISON OF 1989 AND 
ALLISON OF 2001 MADE LANDFALL NEAR THE WEST END OF GALVESTON 
ISLAND...HEADED INTO EAST TEXAS...MOVED BACK TO THE SOUTHWEST...
BRINGING TORRENTIAL RAINS TO THE HOUSTON AREA...BEFORE FINALLY 
DRIFTING OFF TO THE EAST.

    ANAHUAC          20.50       HOBBY AIRPORT    12.69
    BAYTOWN          18.20       ALVIN            11.16
    DEER PARK        16.17       DOWNTOWN HOUSTON 10.78
    ANGLETON         14.34       TOMBALL          10.06
    MATAGORDA        14.29       GALVESTON         9.61
    INTERCONTINENTAL 13.98       SUGAR LAND        5.24
    SAN JACINTO DAM  13.57

A SECOND HURRICANE...JERRY...AFFECTED THE UPPER TEXAS COAST IN 
OCTOBER OF 1989. HOWEVER...AS CAN BE THE CASE WITH HURRICANES...THE 
RAINFALL TOTALS WERE CONSIDERABLY LESS THAN THAT FOUND WITH THE 
SLOWER-MOVING TROPICAL STORMS. NO HURRICANE HAS MADE LANDFALL ON THE 
UPPER TEXAS COAST SINCE JERRY IN 1989.

====================================================================

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A HURRICANE WITHOUT TORRENTIAL RAIN WAS ALICIA IN 
AUGUST OF 1983.

    GALVESTON         7.76
    INTERCONTINENTAL  6.71
    SUGAR LAND        6.48

====================================================================

IN THE TRADITION OF TROPICAL STORMS...CLAUDETTE IN JULY OF 1979 
BROUGHT INCREDIBLE RAINFALL TOTALS TO SOUTHEAST TEXAS. AN OBSERVER 
NEAR ALVIN RECORDED 43 INCHES OF RAIN IN A 24-HOUR PERIOD...A U.S. 
RECORD THAT STANDS TO THIS DAY. AREAS SOUTHEAST OF HOUSTON WERE HIT 
PARTICULARLY HARD...WITH OTHER LOCATIONS RECEIVING SCANT TOTALS. THE 
FOLLOWING ARE THE STORM TOTALS...

    ALVIN (COOP)     45.00       MATAGORDA        14.65
    ALVIN (NWS)      30.70       GALVESTON        14.47
    LEAGUE CITY      24.90       HOBBY AIRPORT    11.02
    FREEPORT         23.59       SAN JACINTO DAM   9.69
    PEARLAND         22.60       SUGAR LAND        3.83
    ANGLETON         18.61       INTERCONTINENTAL  3.13

====================================================================

THE ABOVE ARE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT HEAVY RAIN EVENTS OF THE LAST 
QUARTER CENTURY. MANY PREVIOUS HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS HAVE 
ALSO BROUGHT TORRENTIAL RAINFALL TO THE REGION...AS WELL SOME 
SIGNIFICANT NON-TROPICAL SYSTEMS. ONE SUCH OCCASION WAS THE HOUSTON 
FLOOD OF DECEMBER 1935...DURING WHICH BUFFALO BAYOU ROSE 46 FEET 
ABOVE ITS NORMAL LEVEL...AND WATER REACHED THE THIRD STORY OF SOME 
DOWNTOWN BUILDINGS.

AS DEVASTATING AS TROPICAL STORM ALLISON WAS THIS PAST WEEK... 
SOUTHEAST TEXAS HAD ALREADY SEEN ITS SHARE OF HEAVY RAIN EVENTS. 
WHILE ALLISON OF 2001 RANKS AMONG THE MOST DEVASTATING...THIS LOOK 
AT SOME RECENT FLOODS SHOWS THAT SUCH EVENTS ARE NOT UNPRECEDENTED.

WSFO HGX 39