Heat — Inland Kenedy County, Texas

2023-09-24 · Inland Kenedy County, Texas

Event narrative

The Kingsville Naval Air Station Observation recorded more than five hours of heat index in excess of 111 degrees, peaking at 119 degrees just before 3 PM CDT. Though the Kingsville site is typically notably higher with heat index values than others, using proxy and extrapolated data among other sites in Cameron and Brooks County suggests values in much of Kenedy County likely reached or exceeded 111 for 3 to 5 hours. Mid to late afternoon east-southeast flow off of the very warm Gulf and Laguna Madre likely fed the spike in heat index. This was the hottest-feeling day of the late September period.

Wider weather episode

The unrelenting pattern known as 'La Canicula' (the Dog Days of Summer) produced a final round of excessive heat just after astronomical summer (which ended on September 22) of 2023. Afternoon heat index values reached or exceeded 111 for several hours in these areas, and ambient temperatures were at or just below 100 degrees during the period.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1142690. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.