Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 605
656 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
WEATHER 605
"Weather Highlights" from Page 113.
County. Tornadoes touched down in Hillsboro and Bel-
ton, Hill and Bell Counties, causing heavy damage to
barns and sheds. More than 4 inches of rain accumulat-
ed in 90 minutes in Garland, Dallas County, causing
extensive flash flooding. One fatality occurred when a
man was swept off the roadway. Total damage esti-
mates from flash flooding in Dallas County were $7.6
million.
April 24-26, 1990: Severe thunderstorms hit many
areas of Texas during the three-day period. Three tor-
nadoes touched down in Parker County causing dam-
age to several homes. Winds were estimated at 80 mph
in Alvord, Wise County. Meanwhile, 15 inches-18 inches
of rainfall were reported in Comanche and Brown
Counties. Two fatalities due to flash flooding occurred
in Brownwood, Brown County. On the 26th, 3-inch rain-
falls in the Dallas and Houston metro areas caused se-
vere flooding, while wind gusts of 112 mph were report-
ed at Laughlin Air Force Base, Val Verde County. In
Caldwell, Burleson County, 13.04 inches of rain fein im10
hours. Flash flooding killed three people in Sunray,
Moore County, when their car was washed off the high-
way. In Hood County homes were reportedly flooded to
a depth of greater than 4 feet. The largest official rain-
fall reported on the 25th-26th was 14.96 inches at De
Leon, Comanche County.
April 27, 1990: Another outbreak of severe thunder-
storms moved across the state bringing funnel clouds
and one tornado near College Station, Brazos County,
and spawning at least four more tornadoes near Hous-
ton, Harris County. Two tornadoes were seen in Lime-
stone County while baseball-sized hail fell in Mexia.
Parker County was declared a disaster area by Gov.
Clements because of an oil spill, tornado, and flooding
that all occurred during the month. An estimated $20
million in damage from the storms were reported in
Houston.
May 1990: The pattern of heavy rainfall events that
started in late April continued into May throughout
most of North Central and East Texas, causing exten-
sive flooding along the Red River and Trinity River, as
well as many other smaller creeks and rivers. Three
fatalities occurred in Tarrant County when swift flow-
ing waters swept cars off roadways. Overall, 12 people
were killed because of rising flood waters. The Trinity
River set a new depth record of 19.9 feet at Liberty,
Liberty County, breaking the previous record of 29.3
feet in 1908. In Houston County, 50,000 acres of land were
under water, as was land in many other counties in East
Texas. The 1,200 oyster fishermen in and around Gal-
veston Bay lost an estimated $12 million. Total damage
to agriculture and land alone was estimated to be near
$700 million, with total damage probably topping $1 bil-
lion. Over 50 counties were declared disaster areas,
making the floods of 1990 some of the most severe in
Texas' history.
August 15-31, 1990: A ridge of high pressure became
stationary over the state on the 15th, allowing hot, dry
air from Mexico to push maximum temperatures over
100 degrees F at many locations. By the 22nd, the entire
state, except for the Upper Coast, had maximum tem-
peratures between 95 degrees F and 105 degrees F.
Waco, McLennan County, was the hot spot for the state,
with an average maximum temperature of 100.1 de-
grees F for the month. Waco also set five record high
maximum temperatures, including a 109 degrees F
reading on the 31st.
September 16-18, 1990: A cluster of heavy thunder-
storms remained nearly stationary over portions of the
Edwards Plateau from the evening of the 16th to the
early morning hours of the 18th. Total rainfall amounts
ranged from 4 inches-7 inches. Oak Creek Lake, Coke
County, received 6.31 inches. Sonora, Sutton County,
received 6.35 inches, and the Duncan Wilson Ranch,
Schleicher County, recorded 5.21 inches. Many secon-
dary roads and low-water crossings were impassable
due to flash flooding.
December 21-24, 1990: The arrival of cold, arctic air
in Texas on the 21st caused temperature drops of 40
degrees F -50 degrees at many locations. In fact, some
single-hour temperature drops of 15 degrees F - 20
degrees F were not uncommon. Numerous minimum
temperature records were broken on the 23rd, includ-
ing a -6 degrees F minimum at Amarillo, Potter County.
The lowest minimum was -12 degrees F at Bravo, Hart-
ley County. Thirteen deaths were caused by icy road
conditions resulting from the freezing rain and snow
accompanying the cold air outbreak."Destructive Weather" from Page 116.
been blown away. Celia caused 11 deaths in Texas, at
least 466 injuries, and total property and crop damage
in Texas estimated at $453,773,000. Hurricane Celia
crossed the Texas coastline midway between Corpus
Christi and Aransas Pass about 3:30 p.m. CST on Aug. 3.
Hardest hit was the metropolitan area of Corpus
Christi, including Robstown, Aransas Pass, Port Aran-
sas and small towns on the north side of Corpus Christi
Bay.
June 12-13, 1973: Rainstorm. Southeastern Texas.
Ten drowned. Over $50 million in property and crop
damage. From 10-15 inches of rain recorded.
Nov. 23-24, 1974: Flash Flooding. Central Texas. Over
$1 million in property damage. Thirteen people killed,
ten in Travis County.
June 15, 1976: Rainstorm. Harris County. Rains in
excess of 13 inches caused damage estimated at near
$25 million. Eight deaths were storm-related, including
three drownings.
Aug. 1-4, 1978: Heavy Rains, Flooding. Edwards Pla-
teau, Low Rolling Plains. Remnants of Tropical Storm
Amelia caused some of the worst flooding of this cen-
tury. As much as 30 inches of rain fell near Albany in
Shackelford County, where six drownings were report-
ed. Bandera, Kerr, Kendall and Gillespie counties were
hit hard, as 27 people drowned and the damage total
was at least $50 million.
Dec. 30-31, 1978: Ice Storm. North Central Texas.
Possibly the worst ice storm in 30 years hit Dallas County
particularly hard. Damage estimates reached $14 mil-
lion, and six deaths were storm-related.
April 10, 1979: The worst single tornado in Texas'
history hit Wichita Falls. Earlier on the same day, sever-
al tornadoes hit farther west. The destruction in Wich-
ita Falls resulted in 42 dead, 1,740 injured, over 3,000
homes destroyed and damage of approximately $400
million. An estimated 20,000 persons were left homeless
by this storm.
In all, the tornadoes on April 10 killed 53 people,
injured 1,812 and caused.over$500milliondamages.
May 24-25, 1981: Severe flooding in Austin claimed 13
lives, injured about 100 and caused $40 million in dam-
ages. Up to 5.5 inches of rain fell in one hour just west of
the city.
April 2, 1982: A tornado outbreak in Northeast Tex-
as. The most severe tornado struck Paris; 10 people were
killed, 170 injured and 1,000 left homeless. Over $50 mil-
lion in damages resulted. A total of 7 tornadoes that day
left 11 dead and 174 injured.
Aug. 15-21, 1983: Hurricane Alicia was the first hurri-
cane to make landfall in the continental U.S. in three
years (Aug. 18), and one of the costliest in Texas history
s($3 billion). Alicia caused widespread damage to a
large section of Southeast Texas, including coastal
areas near Galveston and the entire Houston area. Alicia
spawned 22 tornadoes, and highest winds were estimat-
ed near 130 mph. In all, 18 people in South Texas were
killed and 1,800 injured as a result of the tropical storm.
Storms in 1985 and 1986 can be found in Weather
Highlights for those years.
Jan. 12-13, 1985: A record-breaking snowstorm
struck West and South Central Texas with up to 15
inches of snow that fell at many locations between San
Antonio and the Rio Grande. San Antonio recorded 13.2
inches of snow for Jan. 12 (the greatest in a day) and
13.5 inches for the two-day total. Eagle Pass reported
14.5 inches of snow.
June 26, 1986: Hurricane Bonnie made landfall be-
tween High Island and Sabine Pass around 3:45 a.m. The
highest wind measured in the area was a gust to 97
m.p.h., which was recorded at the Sea Rim State Park.
As much as 13 inches of rain fell in Ace in southern Polk
County. There were several reports of funnel clouds,
but no confirmed tornadoes. While the storm caused no
major structural damage, there was widespread minor
damage. Numerous injuries were reported.
May 22, 1987: A strong, multiple-vortex tornado
struck the town of Saragosa (Reeves Co.), essentially
wiping it off the map. Of the town's 183 inhabitants, 30
were killed and 121 were injured. 85% of the town's
structures were completely destroyed, while total dam-
age topped $1.3 million.
September 16-18, 1988: Hurricane Gilbert struck 125
miles south of Brownsville, Cameron County, bringing
tides of 3 feet-6 feet above average, rainfalls of 6 inches-
10 inches, and at least 29 tornadoes. Total damage asso-
ciated with Gilbert in Texas was estimated at $3 million-
$5 million. The only death attributed to the storm was a
woman who was killed by a tornado spawned by rem-
nants of Gilbert in the San Antonio area.605
WEATHER
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Kingston, Mike. Texas Almanac, 1992-1993, book, 1991; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth279642/m1/609/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.