Willacy storm history

The Cameron County Office of Emergency Management reported a trailer home struck by lightning with the entire building consumed by the flames after the pre-dawn strike. Two residents inside were killed by the ensuing fire.

Hurricane Hanna moved across the western Gulf of Mexico and made landfall on the mid-Kenedy County coastline at around 5 PM Central Time Saturday, July 25th, carrying sustained 90 mph winds with gusts over 100 mph in a small portion of the inner eye wall. While there aren't many …

Reports of high flowing water blocking passage along SR-186 just west of Port Mansfield were received during the evening of July 25th, when feeder bands into the eastern semicircle of then-Tropical Storm Hanna dropped an additional 4 to 8 inches of rainfall into central and easte…

Measured and estimated rainfall between 8 and 12 or more inches that fell predominantly from early evening June 24th through a bit after midnight on June 25th produced widespread flash flooding across western Willacy County. Hardest hit locations were Sebastian, Lyford, Raymondvi…

A strong cloud to ground lightning bolt struck and set ablaze a wind turbine and tower at the Willacy County Los Vientos wind farm during the initial severe thunderstorm that impacted the county during the early evening of June 24, 2019. Another strike destroyed a small grain sil…

The same clusters of thunderstorms that dropped between 12 and an estimated 18 inches in the Weslaco/Mercedes area early on June 20th dropped an estimated 5 to 10 inches on central through northeastern Willacy County (primary population areas), including a number of farm fields (…

Hazardous, high water on roadways, in homes, and across cropland continued across nearly all of eastern Willacy County.

The heavy rainfall on October 24th led to much of eastern Willacy County being under several feet of water. Water rescues were underway prior to the heaviest rains and continued through the afternoon. Though homes are few and far between (mainly farm houses or workers homes), the…

Runoff from storms in Hidalgo County was moving so swiftly that it caused the collapse of a weir in Willacy County. Estimates for repair of the structure are around $2 million.

After ripping Harlingen's Valley International Airport with 72.5 mph wind gusts just prior to midnight CST (6 miles south of the Cameron/Willacy county line, the inner core of Hermine waned for a few moments before reintensifying in southern Willacy County, ultimately slamming th…

The approach of Hurricane Dolly to the barrier shoreline of South Padre Island early on the morning of July 23rd brought sustained tropical storm force winds inland to the east side of Willacy County away from the immediate coast, at approximately 10 AM CDT on the 23rd. Prior rai…

Torrential rains fell in just a few hours across Port Mansfield between 9 AM and 1230 PM CST (10 AM and 130 PM CDT), with the cooperative observer (Harbormaster) reporting 6.83 during this time. While the town's generally decent drainage prevented a significant flood, there was m…

Torrential rainfall with estimated totals ranging from 6 to 12 inches affected southern/southwestern Willacy County during the mid to late evening of March 27, with several water rescues reported in Sebastian along the Cameron County line. Additional flooding with water depths on…

The Texas Department of Transportation continued to report flooding along the frontage road near Sebastian well into March 28th, with additional flooding noted by emergency management/law enforcement along Farm-to-Market and County roads in the southern portion of the county. Flo…

Severe (D2) Drought expanded into western Willacy County on March 18th, courtesy of very dry conditions (afternoon humidity averaging around 20 percent from the 10th-17th), persistent breezes, periodic hot temperatures, and increasing evaporation. The drought area would expand in…

Edinburg AWOS recorded about 46.5 hours of wind chills at or below 30F degrees from 11:35pm on February 19th to 12:15pm on February 20th, from 11:15pm on February 20th to 11:15pm on February 21st, and from 1:15am to 10:35am on February 22. A minimum wind chill temperature between…

Harlingen ASOS recorded 33 hours of wind chills at or below 30F degrees from 11:30pm on January 20 to 9:45am on January 22, 2025. This includes 7 hours of wind chills at or below 20F degrees from 3:52am to 11:05 am on January 21, and 9.5 hours of the same from 10:30pm on January …

Harlingen/Valley International Airport recorded max heat indices between 111-116F for 3 hours, from 1:53-4:53 PM CDT on June 6, 2024. The Texas AgriScience Center Mesonet site (a few miles west of the Willacy/Hidalgo County line) recorded a little less than an hour of 111-113F he…

Edinburg International Airport recorded max heat indices between 111-117F for 7 hours, from 10:55 AM-5:55 PM CDT on June 5, 2024. Heat indices reached Excessive Heat Warning criteria with values between 116-117F over 4 hours, from 12:55-5:15 PM CDT. Harlingen/Valley International…

Edinburg International Airport (KMFE) recorded max heat indices between 111-112F for 3 hours, from 1:55-4:55 PM CDT on June 4, 2024. Kleberg County Airport (KIKG) in Kingsville recorded peak heat indices between 111-117F for 6 hours (from 12:55-6:55 PM). Excessive Heat Warning cr…

Kleberg County Airport (KIKG) in Kingsville recorded peak heat indices between 111-113F for 2 hours (from 2:55-4:55 PM). Edinburg International Airport (KMFE) recorded max heat indices between 111-112F for 2 hours, from 1:55-3:55 PM CDT on June 3, 2024. Harlingen/Valley recorded …

Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 110-120F for 5 hours, from 11:52 AM-4:52 PM CDT on May 28, 2024. Values reached excessive heat criteria (116F or higher) from approximately 1230 until 345 PM. By proxy, it can be inferred that souther…

Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 113-120F for 4 hours, from 12:52-4:52 PM CDT on May 27, 2024. Excessive heat criteria with values between 116-120F for a couple of hours, from 1:30-3:30 PM CDT. By proxy, and using a reference of the …

Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 113-119F for 6 hours, from 11:52 AM-5:52 PM CDT on May 26, 2024. Heat indices reached Excessive Heat Warning criteria with values between 116-119F for 4 hours, from 12:52-4:52 PM CDT. By proxy, Valley…

Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 111-115F for from around 1230 until 330 PM CDT. By proxy, it is inferred that at least southern Willacy County experienced similar conditions to northern Cameron (near Harlingen).

Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 112-115F for 3 hours, from 12:52-3:52 PM CDT on May 24, 2024. The Texas Mesonet station at Sarita recorded heat indices between 111 and 114 from 1230 until 530 PM CDT. By proxy between these locations…

Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 111-114F for nearly four hours from 130 to 515 PM CDT on May 22, 2024. By proxy, and data from northern Kenedy (1 hour of 111 to 112 heat index during this window), it can be inferred that inland Will…

By proxy, between locations in northern Kenedy and in northern Cameron County, Willacy County is assumed to have observed heat index values between 111 and 114F between 1 and 430 PM CDT.

Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded heat indices between 117-125F for 4 hours, from 1:52-5:52 PM CDT (1252 to 452 CST). The value of 125F was a May record, and rivaled all-time hourly records. Between the hours of 11:52 AM to 6:52 PM CDT (7 hours), heat indices…

Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 111-118F for 3.5 hours, from 2:52-6:20 PM CDT on May 8, 2024. The Sarita Mesonet station in Kenedy County recorded peak heat index values between 111 and 115F between 2 and 430 PM CST. By proxy, Willa…

There were several videos and pictures sent to the local news media of nickel size hail.

A Willacy County Emergency Manager reported a power pole and lines down at 1425 N 490 in Raymondville.

A couple of sites in Cameron County including Harlingen and Russell Farms recorded temperatures at or below freezing for roughly 8-10 hours (between 10:25 PM on the 16th and 7 AM on the 17th). A Hard Freeze (temperatures below 28 degrees for 2 or more hours) occurred at Harlingen…

The cooperative observer at Raymondville recorded a minimum temperature of 30 degrees F during the mid-morning of January 15th. Proxy observations from the Texas Mesonet location at the Texas A&M Agriscience location just west of the county line, as well as a location just north …

An estimated minimum Wind Chill value of 14F and 17F degrees was likely in Willacy County from early morning through early afternoon, based on proxy with observations in Harlingen (Cameron County). The duration of temperatures within the wind chill criteria was likely between 4 a…

By proxy with Cameron and Kenedy County, recorded temperatures at or below freezing ranged from between 10-16 hours (spanning between 920 PM on the 15th and 230 PM on the 16th. This included Harlingen, Texas A&M Agriscience (near the southwest Willacy line), and the Yturria ranch…

A Minimum Wind Chill value of 11F and 14F degrees was recorded in Harlingen at 5:30 AM and 5:00 AM, respectively. The duration of temperatures within the wind chill criteria (below 20 degrees F) was anywhere from about 8-11.5 hours, by proxy, in inland Willacy County at around th…

Rainfall estimated and measured at 1 to 5 inches across nearly all of inland Willacy County during the afternoon or October 5th sharply reduced drought levels from Severe (D2) to Abnormally Dry/Moderate Drought (D0 and D1). A small sliver of Severe (D2) remained within a mile or …

The Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) at Brownsville and Harlingen generally reported 2 to 2.5 hours of heat index of 111 or higher, peaking just below 113 degrees just before 3 PM Central Daylight Time. By proxy, and based on maximum temperatures of 99 degrees at Raymond…

Severe (D2) Drought continued across the northern half of Willacy County until October 9th, before the area would be sharply trimmed back to just a sliver of the far western portion of the county near the Hidalgo and Kenedy County line on the 10th. The trim-back was courtesy of t…

Severe (D2) Drought arrived in Willacy County on the 26th of September, as positive effects from 1 to nearly 3 inches of rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Harold dried up in the record heat and low monthly rainfall (10-25 percent of average). Conditions covered all of weste…

The Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport Automated Surface Observing System recorded four hours of apparent temperature of 111 or higher, with values peaking at just under 114 degrees between 1 and 2 PM. Harlingen/Valley International Airport only touched 111 degr…

By proxy with nearby ASOS, AWOS, and Texas Water Development Board Mesonet sites, it is realistic to interpolate heat index values between 111 and 115 degrees across inland Willacy County during the afternoon of September 15th. Slightly lower values are common here compared with …

By proxy with nearby ASOS, AWOS, and Texas Water Development Board Mesonet sites, it is realistic to interpolate heat index values between 111 and 115 degrees across inland Willacy County during the afternoon of September 6th. Slightly lower values are common here compared with l…

By proxy with nearby ASOS, AWOS, and Texas Water Development Board Mesonet sites, it is realistic to interpolate heat index values between 111 and 115 degrees across inland Willacy County during the afternoon of September 5th. Slightly lower values are common here compared with l…

By proxy with nearby ASOS, AWOS, and Texas Water Development Board Mesonet sites, it is realistic to interpolate heat index values between 111 and 115 degrees across inland Willacy County during the afternoon of September 4th. Slightly lower values are common here compared with l…

By proxy with nearby ASOS, AWOS, and Texas Water Development Board Mesonet sites, it is realistic to interpolate heat index values between 111 and 115 degrees across inland Willacy County during the afternoon of August 19th. Slightly lower values are common here compared with loc…

By proxy with nearby ASOS, AWOS, and Texas Water Development Board Mesonet sites, it is realistic to interpolate heat index values between 111 and 115 degrees across inland Willacy County during the afternoon of August 18th. Slightly lower values are common here compared with loc…

A member of the media shared video of a well defined landspout just north of TX-186 west of San Perlita around 2:50PM CDT on August 15th. The commenter said it lasted around 5 minutes. Radar was used to give a more precise location and time. Dust and dirt were clearly lifted into…