Excessive Heat — Northern Hidalgo County, Texas

2024-05-28 · Northern Hidalgo County, Texas

Event narrative

The South Texas International Airport, 11 miles north of Edinburg and along the north/south Hidalgo County line, recorded 111F of higher heat index values from 1145 AM until 630 PM, with 116F or higher from 2:25 until 5:45 PM. Linn-San Manuel Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) recorded max heat indices between 116-122F degrees for 5 hours, from 12:46-5:46 PM CDT. These values were considered excessive heat criteria the entire duration. However, the RAWS data have a high bias with temperature and dewpoint compared with surrounding (proxy) observations, so the likely heat index values were lower by a couple degrees. Therefore, the timing from the better calibrated airport site is used here.

Wider weather episode

A slightly stronger sub-tropical ridge/heat dome centered over central and southern Mexico returned northward towards the Rio Grande Valley and Deep South Texas. At five thousand feet above ground, the temperature soared anywhere from 78 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, which translated into another short-lived but intense heat wave over the region with surface temperatures rising into the upper 90s to mid 100s from May 26-30. The combination of heat and dewpoint temperatures well into the 70s to around 80, heat indices ranged between a sweltering 111F-126F across parts of Deep South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. The hottest temperatures were once again located from the mid-lower Rio Grande Valley northward along I-69E and I-69C; several hours with values of 116 or higher - considered Excessive Heat - were noted each day in many parts of the region.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1184107. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.