Thunderstorm Wind — San Patricio, Texas

2025-11-01 · near Portland, San Patricio, Texas

Event narrative

Measured 69 mph gust by an automated station.

Wider weather episode

Three primary supercells developed in the late afternoon of November 1, 2025 over South Texas ahead of an approaching cold front. These supercells produced widespread severe weather with hail stones as large as 3 inches observed over portions of the Coastal Plains along with sporadic wind damage. Additional severe storms, albeit weaker, continued into the early evening over the Victoria Crossroads region producing large hail and even drifts of accumulated hail. The event was highly unusual in its magnitude, as hail > 2.5 inches in diameter is rare over South Texas, but was even more anomalous in terms of its seasonal occurrence as it is the first ever documented 3 inch hail event to take place outside of the spring (March-June) in South Texas.

The large wind-driven hail produced widespread damage over the area, with the most significant property damage being observed over portions of San Patricio county, particularly along a corridor between Taft and Portland. The bulk of the damage consisted of body and windshield damage to vehicles, along with damage to windows, siding, and roofs of residential structures. Unfortunately as this storm reached the coast it maintained its intensity and impacted the rookery islands along the South Texas coast resulting in the deaths of thousands of birds.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (27.8700, -97.2973)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1297598. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.