Flash Flood — Caldwell, Texas

2013-10-31 · near Dale, Caldwell, Texas

Event narrative

Caldwell County reported several flooded roads during the morning hours including FM 1979 at the San Marcos River, Old Colony Line Road, and FM 86. A flash flood fatality occurred near Track Road and FM 20 East when a 51 year old teacher at Smithville Junior High was driving to work and his car was swept off the road. His body was recovered later that day.

Wider weather episode

Prolonged flow from the Gulf of Mexico produced a deep moist layer at the surface with precipitable water values two standard deviations above the mean on area soundings. An upper level trough of low pressure moved out of northern New Mexico and across the Texas Panhandle providing lift to produce showers and thunderstorms. A surface trough was the focus of training storms which produced heavy rainfall that led to major flooding across the Onion Creek and Blanco/San Marcos River watersheds.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (29.9366, -97.5555)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 481484. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.