Alert archive / Texas / Rip Current Statements in 2026

Rip Current Statement 4, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

April 9, 2026Brazoria County, Galveston County, Matagorda County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this rip current statement at Apr 9, 2026, 9:23 AM CDT for Brazoria County, Galveston County, Matagorda County, Texas. It was in force for 12 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 9, 2026, 9:23 AM CDT (14:23 UTC)
Expired
Apr 9, 2026, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
12 hr
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

Counties Brazoria County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Matagorda County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:24 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 404 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2026-04-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 24 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2026-04-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 25 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
24 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-117 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
838 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
80 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

384 
WHUS44 KHGX 091423
CFWHGX

Coastal Hazard Message
National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX
923 AM CDT Thu Apr 9 2026

TXZ436>439-092230-
/O.NEW.KHGX.RP.S.0004.260409T1423Z-260410T0200Z/
Matagorda Islands-Brazoria Islands-Galveston Island-
Bolivar Peninsula-
923 AM CDT Thu Apr 9 2026

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING...

* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents.

* WHERE...Gulf-facing beaches, including the Matagorda 
  Peninsula, Brazoria County beaches, Galveston Island and the 
  Bolivar Peninsula.

* WHEN...Until 9 PM CDT this evening.

* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away 
  from shore into deeper water.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The high rip current risk will likely be 
  extended through the end of the week.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Swim near a lifeguard and away from rocks, jetties, and piers. If
caught in a rip current, relax and float. Don't swim against the
current. If able, swim in a direction following the shoreline. If
unable to escape, face the shore and call or wave for help.

&&

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 9, 4:23 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryHGXJackson, Wharton3 hr

Nearby

Rip Current Statements in Texas, 2026Every rip current statement in 2026

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.