Frost/Freeze — Willacy Island, Texas

2022-12-23 · Willacy Island, Texas

Event narrative

Temperatures fell below freezing around 4:00AM CST on December 23rd and remained below freezing until 8:00PM CST. The Yturria Union Pacific Railroad mesonet site (UR295) in northern Willacy County recorded a minimum temperature of 23 degrees; the Texas Coastal Ocean Observing Network (TCOON) site at Rincon del San Jose recorded a minimum temperature of 25 degrees; the TCOON site at Realitos recorded a minimum temperature of 27 degrees. Given low temperatures in the middle to upper 20s observed in adjacent Willacy County and Island Kenedy and Island Cameron County, it is implied that temperatures across much of Coastal Willacy County were also in the middle to upper 20s. Times are estimated.

Wider weather episode

A strong push of Arctic air arrived late on December 22nd across the Northern Ranchlands before sweeping through the Rio Grande Valley the morning of December 23rd. What followed were some of the coldest temperatures the region has seen in the month of December since 1989. All of the region dipped below freezing for several hours with some stations experiencing stretches nearing 30 consecutive hours. The combination of the wind and cold led to dangerously cold wind chill values between 5 to 15 degrees at times the morning of December 23rd. Widespread freezing temperatures were recorded December 23rd and 24th with light freezes occurring in the Northern Ranchlands the mornings of December 25th and 26th.

Details, including photos and videos, on this event can be found at this story map, at https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f62245472d744bcfac30b15c47f44f80

Over 160 cold stunned sea turtles were rescued from the Laguna Madre and nearshore Gulf waters between December 23rd and December 25th.

Agriculture and Livestock damages will be updated as they become available.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1061657. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.