Cold/Wind Chill — Coastal Nueces County, Texas

2024-01-16 to 2024-01-19 · Coastal Nueces County, Texas

Event narrative

Around 323 cold stunned green sea turtles were rescued in the Laguna Madre and Corpus Christi Bay between January 16th and January 19th. Texas State Aquarium's Wildlife Rescue Team and staff assessed their health and promptly started treatment for cold-stunning.

Wider weather episode

A very cold arctic air mass moved into South Texas during the early morning of Jan. 15th. 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. Around 323 cold stunned green sea turtles were rescued in the bays of the Middle Texas coast between Jan. 16th and Jan. 19th. Padre Island National Seashore, NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas Sealife Center, The Amos Rehabilitation Keep (ARK) and other rescue teams 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 1159375. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.