Frost/Freeze — Kenedy Island, Texas

2025-02-19 to 2025-02-20 · Kenedy Island, Texas

Event narrative

Sarita Texas Water Development Board mesonet station recorded 12 hours, from 11:15pm on February 19 to 11:15am on February 20, of freezing temperatures (temperatures at or below 32F degrees). By proxy, as well as from observations along the coast at Baffin Bay and Rincon del San Jose, similar conditions extended all the way to the Kenedy County barrier island.

Wider weather episode

Behind the passage of a strong cold front, a cold air mass gripped and lingered over Deep South Texas and the Rio Grande valley resulting in freezing temperatures, locally extreme cold, and a third sea turtle cold-stunning event February 20-22, 2025. More than 175 sea turtles were stunned when the sea surface temperature of the lower Laguna Madre fell below 50 at several points during the period, as air temperatures hovered from the mid to upper 30s to lower 40s.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1239978. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.