A weakening frontal system moving through Deep South Texas sparked locally heavy rains across the western Rio Grande Valley and Rio Grande Plains of Deep South Texas in mid May, and ultimately reduced drought by one category, from Exceptional to Extreme, for the assessment issued on May 18th. These conditions would continue through the end of the month, as another round of locally heavy rains…
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Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS BRO wrote it up.
A weakening frontal system moving through Deep South Texas sparked locally heavy rains across the western Rio Grande Valley and Rio Grande Plains of Deep South Texas in mid May, and ultimately reduced drought by one category, from Exceptional to Extreme, for the assessment issued on May 18th. These conditions would continue through the end of the month, as another round of locally heavy rains early on May 28th would help keep drought from reintensifying further.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Brownsville, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 18, 6:28 PM CST, 5 hours 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 728 PM CDT MON MAY 18 2009 .DISCUSSION...A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE CONTINUES TO BUILD ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY IN THE WAKE OF THE WEAK COLD FRONT WHICH MOVED THROUGH DEEP SOUTH TEXAS SATURDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. MODERATE NORTHEAST TO EAST WINDS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE CWA DURING THE AFTERNOONS AND EARLY EVENINGS AND LIGHT WINDS TO CALM CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR DURING THE OVERNIGHT PERIODS THROUGH FRIDAY. THE WINDS WILL BECOME SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH OVER THE WEEKEND REMAINING LIGHT TO MODERATE. MOSTLY DRY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CWA THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST PERIOD. THE LOW TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE BELOW NORMAL THROUGH FRIDAY WITH NEAR NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES. THE TEMPERATURES WILL INCREASE TO SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN NORMAL OVER THE WEEKEND. THE CURRENT FORECAST PACKAGE LOOKS GOOD THEREFORE NO CHANGES ARE ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. && .MARINE...THE 7 PM OBSERVATION FROM BUOY020 INDICATED WINDS WERE NORTH NORTHEAST AROUND 16 KTS GUSTING TO AROUND 19 KTS AND SEAS WERE AROUND 7 FEET WITH A PERIOD OF 8 SECONDS. WINDS CONTINUE TO SLOWLY DIMINISH ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WEAKENS WITH HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING OVER THE COASTAL TEXAS. RESIDUAL SWELL TO SLOWLY SUBSIDE BUT SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING UNTIL A MORE SUBSTANTIAL DROP IS SEEN. A LIGHT TO MODERATE NORTHEAST TO EAST FLOW SHOULD PERSIST THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS A LOW PRESSURE AREA AND POSSIBLE TROPICAL CYCLONE DEVELOPS NEAR FLORIDA. THE LOW IS FORECAST TO TRACK SLOWLY NORTHWEST AND THEN TURN NORTH TOWARDS THE NEW ORLEANS VICINITY THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK. CURRENT MARINE FORECAST INDICATES A LIGHT TO MODERATE EASTERLY WIND WITH SWELLS TO REMAIN PERSIST AT MODERATE LEVELS. THIS COULD CHANGE DEPENDING ON FUTURE TRACK AND DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM. MAIN CONCERNS WILL BE SWELL CONDITIONS COULD BUILD WITH A LENGTHENING PERIOD. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS TO PREVAIL TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. && .BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY THROUGH 9 PM CDT FOR GMZ170-175. && THIS PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BROWNSVILLE THE GRAPHICAST PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BROWNSVILLE/GRAPHICAST.HTM SYNOPTIC/GRIDS....63 MARINE/AVIATION...59 MESOSCALE.......HART
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 929 PM CDT MON MAY 18 2009 TXZ248>257-191200- ZAPATA-JIM HOGG-BROOKS-KENEDY-STARR-HIDALGO-INLAND WILLACY- INLAND CAMERON-COASTAL WILLACY-COASTAL CAMERON- 929 PM CDT MON MAY 18 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-191200- LAGUNA MADRE FROM THE PORT OF BROWNSVILLE TO THE ARROYO COLORADO- LAGUNA MADRE FROM THE ARROYO COLORADO TO 5 NM NORTH OF PORT MANSFIELD TX- LAGUNA MADRE FROM 5 NM NORTH OF PORT MANSFIELD TO BAFFIN BAY TX- COASTAL WATERS FROM PORT MANSFIELD TO THE RIO GRANDE OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM BAFFIN BAY TO PORT MANSFIELD OUT 20 NM- WATERS FROM PORT MANSFIELD TO THE RIO GRANDE EXTENDING FROM 20 TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM BAFFIN BAY TO PORT MANSFIELD EXTENDING FROM 20 TO 60 NM- 929 PM CDT MON MAY 18 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THE LAGUNA MADRE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. AN INCREASE IN AN EASTERLY SWELL IS POSSIBLE MIDDLE TO LATE IN THE WEEK AS A LOW PRESSURE AREA DEVELOPS NEAR FLORIDA AND MOVES INTO THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES MAY BE NECESSARY FOR SEAS AS EARLY AS THURSDAY IF THE LOW STRENGTHENS PRODUCING A HIGH SWELL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Rainfall on the 16th of May would reduce drought intensity in Jim Hogg County from Exceptional (D4) to Extreme (D3) by the 18th. Additional scattered storms between May 24th and 28th would maintain the Extreme level through the end of the month.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, May 2009
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 162742.