Frost/Freeze — Coastal Willacy, Texas

2022-02-05 · Coastal Willacy, Texas

Event narrative

Despite sparse coverage, it is estimated that temperatures fell below freezing across portions of Coastal Willacy County around 1:30AM CST on February 5th and did not rise above freezing again until 8:40AM CST. It is estimated that low temperatures fell into the upper 20s and lower 30s across the area. This is estimated from observations in adjacent Kenedy and Cameron Counties, as well as Inland Willacy.

Wider weather episode

A strong cold front swept through Deep South Texas the morning of February 3rd and caused temperatures to drop 20 to 25 degrees immediately following it as a strong arctic high pushed south into Texas. The Arctic High ushered in cold air and led to well below normal temperatures and a couple of sub-freezing nights. The coldest period was between the night of February 4th through the morning of February 5th when clouds cleared out and temperatures dropped into the lower to middle 20s across portions of Deep South Texas, with the coldest readings in rural inland locations away from the populated Rio Grande Valley. Much of the region away from the populated Rio Grande Valley experienced another light freeze the morning of February 6th. Wind chills dipped into the middle teens to middle 20s the morning of February 4th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 995295. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.