Waterspout — Coastal Waters From Pt Mansfield To Rio Grande River Tx Out 20nm, Gulf of Mexico

2020-06-15 · near South Padre Island, Coastal Waters From Pt Mansfield To Rio Grande River Tx Out 20nm, Gulf of Mexico

Event narrative

A waterspout was reported at approximately 9:30 AM CDT on the morning of June 15th about 5 miles east of South Padre Island. A photo and video were posted on social media and gained a lot of attention.

Wider weather episode

The combination of warm sea surface temperatures and high moisture content in the lower levels of the atmosphere allowed streamer showers and thunderstorms to develop over the lower Texas coastal waters during the morning hours of June 15th, even while under a broad surface high pressure system. One of these storms had efficient instability and rotation to produce a waterspout about 5 miles offshore of South Padre Island and was reported on social media.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (26.1077, -97.0556)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 906378. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.