Cold/Wind Chill — Nueces County Islands, Texas

2024-01-14 to 2024-01-17 · Nueces County Islands, Texas

Event narrative

Wind chill values fell to below 20 degrees as temperatures fell to the mid 20s and strong north winds persisted. Wind chill values fell as low as 10 degrees on the morning of the 16th.

Wider weather episode

Surge of arctic air plunged into South Texas during the evening hours of Jan 14th to the early morning hours of Jan 15th, dropping temperatures below freezing overnight (21-30F). A Winter Weather Advisory over all of South Texas was upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning for the Coastal Plains the morning of Jan. 15th as freezing rain was reported and accumulated on bridges and overpasses across South Texas. Dozens of accidents occurred across the region due to ice with a fatality near Laredo. Temperatures remained below freezing through the day on Jan. 15th for much of South Texas and lows dropped to the low to mid 20s the night of Jan. 15th. Strong northerly winds with temps in the 20s caused wind chill values in the single digits on the morning of Jan. 16th. Although temperatures rose above freezing during the day on Jan. 16th, radiational cooling allowed for the coldest air temperature night with early morning temperatures on Jan. 17th in the upper teens over the inland Coastal Plains to the mid 20s along the coast. Multiple freeze and hard freeze warnings along with wind chill warnings were also in effect.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1159366. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.