Cold/Wind Chill — Nueces County Islands, Texas

2022-02-03 to 2022-02-06 · Nueces County Islands, Texas

Event narrative

Several agencies conducted rescue operations for cold stunned green sea turtles along the Middle Texas coast. In the Corpus Christi Bay and Upper Laguna Madre area, 206 green sea turtles were rescued while 8 were found dead.

Wider weather episode

A very cold arctic air mass moved into south Texas on the 3rd and continued into the 6th. The cold temperatures caused the water temperatures to drop in the bays of the Middle Texas coast. This caused cold stunning of green sea turtles in the bays. Over 220 cold stunned green sea turtles were rescued in the bays of the Middle Texas coast on the 5th and 6th. Staff and volunteers from the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sea World San Antonio, Texas State Aquarium, Texas Sea Life Center, Texas A&M University-Galveston, Houston Zoo, NOAA-Fisheries, Sea Turtle, Inc., Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Nueces County, Texas Master Naturalist, Gladys Porter Zoo, University of Texas, Mission-Aransas Estuarine Research Reserve, Sea Tow, CCA, Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, Keep Aransas County Beautiful, U.S. Coast Guard and other organizations helped with the efforts to find, document, rehabilitate, and release cold stunned turtles on the Middle Texas coast.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1010917. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.