Flash Flood — Gaines, Texas

1999-04-30 · near Countywide, Gaines, Texas

Event narrative

Training of numerous cells over Seminole and areas to the east and northeast caused widespread and extensive flooding. The KMAF 88D Storm Total Precipitation measured a strip of 20 by 8 miles that received in excess of 5 inches of rain. Readings from within the swath confirmed this estimation. Residences were flooded in Seminole and cars on FM 1429 east of Seminole were stranded in high water. One new mobile home east of the city became flooded and started to float in the water, only to break apart shortly thereafter. Several people were rescued from vehicles standing in 4-5 feet of water. Numerous animals died in the event, including five horses on a farm that died from hypothermia after being stranded for hours in deep, hail-chilled waters.

Wider weather episode

A classic severe weather setup was taking place on this day and would continue into the next day. A strong upper level low pressure system was centered near Las Vegas, NV and was moving slowly eastward toward the area. Surface winds were backed to the southeast with rich moisture.One item of interest was the early start time of the storms with the first tornado by 1130 am CDT...only about 10 am local sun time. With the mid-level flow blowing parallel to the orientation of multicell complexes were oriented, training of storms was common over several parts of the region. In the evening tornadoes and hail events subsided and flash flooding began to take control.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5694052. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.