Continued rain free weather, above to much above normal temperatures, and plenty of wind as the sun angle increased with springtime increased the area of severe (D2) drought to reach into all of the Lower Rio Grande Valley by month's end.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Continued rain free weather, above to much above normal temperatures, and plenty of wind as the sun angle increased with springtime increased the area of severe (D2) drought to reach into all of the Lower Rio Grande Valley by month's end.
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 Mar 28, 8:22 PM CST, 3 hours 38 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 922 PM CDT MON MAR 28 2011 .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/...A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM NEAR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS WILL CONTINUE TO BRING A LIGHT TO MODERATE EAST TO SOUTHEAST FLOW OF AIR TO THE AREA THROUGH THE SHORT TERM PERIOD. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO BE SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES WILL PERSIST OVERNIGHT WITH PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES DURING THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON HOURS. BRO SOUNDING THIS EVENING HAD A PRECIP WATER OF 1.17 AND A K-INDEX OF 19. PREVIOUS FORECAST PACKAGE LOOKS GOOD AT THIS TIME. NO UPDATES NEEDED AT THIS TIME. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY/...NO CHANGES NEEDED TO THIS FORECAST PERIOD AT THIS TIME. A COLD FRONT WILL SLOWLY PUSH THROUGH THE CWA ON WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL BRING A CHC FOR A FEW SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS TO DEEP SOUTH TX DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY. DRIER CONDITIONS WILL BE THE GENERAL RULE HOWEVER...AS TEMPERATURES REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL. THE FRONT WILL DELIVER DRIER...MORE COMFORTABLE AIR INTO THE CWA SO ANTICIPATE OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE GETTING COOLER BEGINNING THURSDAY MORNING. THE DRIER AIRMASS LOOKS TO PERSIST THRU THE END OF THE WORK WEEK BEFORE ONSHORE FLOW RESUMES BY THE START OF THE WEEKEND RETURNING GULF MOISTURE AND HIGHER HUMIDITY BACK INTO THE AREA. THE PASSAGE OF ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL BE POSSIBLE EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .MARINE...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...BOY020 REPORTED WINDS FROM THE EAST AT 14 KNOTS GUSTING TO 16 KNOTS WITH SEAS 4.3 FEET AT 6 SECONDS. LIGHT TO MODERATE WINDS FROM THE SOUTHEAST AND LOW TO MODERATE SEAS WILL PREVAIL FOR THE SHORT TERM PERIOD. A RELATIVELY DRY AND STABLE AIRMASS WILL BE THE RULE FOR THE MARINE AREA OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY...FAVORABLE MARINE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST THRU THE MAJORITY OF THIS FORECAST PERIOD ACROSS THE LWR TX COASTAL WATERS. WEAK TO MODERATE ONSHORE FLOW WILL DELIVER LIGHT TO MODERATE WINDS AND LOW TO SLIGHT SEAS MID TO LATE WEEK. THE PASSAGE OF A COLD FRONT ON WEDNESDAY WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA...WITH OTHERWISE DRY CONDITIONS PREVAILING FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. ONSHORE FLOW WILL BEGIN TO STRENGTHEN DURING THE WEEKEND WHICH WILL ALLOW SOUTHERLY WINDS TO INCREASE AND SEAS TO GRADUALLY BUILD. && .AVIATION...PREVAILING VFR CONDITIONS OVER THE REGIONAL AIRPORTS THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT WITH TEMPO MVFR CIG IN STRATUS LATER TONIGHT AND LATE TUESDAY NIGHT. WINDS LIGHT TO MODERATE FROM THE EAST TO SOUTHEAST THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING. && .PREV DISCUSSION.../ISSUED 200 PM CDT MON MAR 28 2011/ SHORT TERM.../THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/...ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO THE GOING FORECAST. THE BIG PICTURE REMAINS CONSISTENT...WITH DEEP SOUTH TEXAS LEFT IN A COLL OF SORTS WITH GENERAL LOWER PRESSURES ACROSS THE AREA (BELOW 1010 MB) AND RESIDUAL LOW LEVEL MOISTURE LEADING TO PLENTY OF OVERNIGHT THROUGH MID MORNING STRATUS FOLLOWED BY HAZY AFTERNOON SUNSHINE AMONG THE CLOUDS TUESDAY AFTERNOON. PATCHY TO AREAS OF FOG...MOST PREVALENT NEAR THE COAST WHERE SEA FOG EBBS AND FLOWS...WILL DEVELOP EACH NIGHT AND CONTINUE AT THE BEACHES AND ACROSS THE GULF WATERS WELL INTO THE AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WERE ADJUSTED THIS AFTERNOON TO COVER THE SLIGHTLY LOWER VALUES IN THE SLIGHTLY COOLER AIR MASS ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER...WITH FORECAST ADJUSTED DOWNWARD TO AROUND 80 IN THESE AREAS. OTHERWISE...HAVE GONE OVER GUIDANCE EACH NIGHT BASED ON RECENT TRENDS AND REDEVELOPMENT/THICKENING OF SOUPY STRATUS. IN SHORT...AROUND 70 TO THE LOWER 70S IN MOST AREAS EACH NIGHT. LOWERED TUESDAY'S HIGHS JUST A SMIDGE BASED ON GUIDANCE TRENDS BUT ALSO EXPECTATION OF PLENTY OF CLOUDS AND HIGH DEWPOINTS CONTINUING WELL INLAND THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. STILL ENOUGH TO PUSH UPPER 80S WITH HEAT INDEX...OR FEELS LIKE TEMPERATURES...TOWARD THE LOWER AND MID 90S WELL AWAY FROM THE COAST. OTHER ITEM WAS TO REMOVE MENTION OF PRECIPITATION TUESDAY NIGHT. GUIDANCE BELOW 10 PERCENT AND MODELS NOT INDICATING ANY NOTABLE LIFTING UNTIL WEDNESDAY. LEFT SILENT 10 PERCENT FOR NOW. LONG TERM.../WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY/...A SERIES OF COLD FRONTS WILL IMPACT THE VALLEY THROUGH THE LONG TERM PORTION OF THE FORECAST. THE FIRST FRONT DUE LATE TUE NIGHT OR WED MORNING WILL BE RELATIVELY WEAK. WEAK FRONTAL FORCING AND A BIT STRONGER MID LEVEL LIFT MAY BE JUST ENOUGH TO PROVIDE ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS WED AND WED EVENING. COULD HEAR A CLAP OF THUNDER OR TWO...SO INCLUDED THE MENTION OF THUNDER. MOST OF THE DYNAMICS TO REMAIN NORTH OF THE CWA. THE SECOND FRONT DUE FRIDAY LOOKS TO BE DRY...BUT SHOULD BRING A BRIEF SPELL OF DRIER CONDITIONS FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SAT MORNING. THE LAST IN THE SERIES OF FRONTS IS EXPECTED MONDAY AND EARLY MODEL RUNS SUGGEST THIS ONE MAY BE THE STRONGEST...BRINGING WINDY CONDITIONS AND POTENTIALLY NOTICEABLY COOLER TEMPS FOR A DAY OR TWO. STRONG SOUTHERLY FLOW ANTICIPATED SAT AND SUN IN ADVANCE OF THIS FRONT AS STRONG CYCLOGENESIS TAKES PLACE IN THE CENTRAL PLAINS. GENERALLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. INHERITED TEMPS SEEMED REASONABLE AND WERE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY MAINTAINED. AVIATION...ANOTHER TRICKY FORECAST TONIGHT BASED ON MARGINS OF MVFR/IFR TOWARD DAYBREAK. EXPECT VFR CEILING TO QUICKLY LOWER TO MVFR AFTER SUNSET NEAR THE COAST AND FARTHER INLAND BY MIDNIGHT...AND LOWER TOWARD IFR (1K FEET) BEFORE SUNRISE. FOR NOW...HAVE RETAINED TEMPO IFR CEILINGS IN ALL AREAS AROUND SUNRISE...WITH A GRADUAL RISE INTO MID MORNING BEFORE VFR RETURNS BY NOON OR SO. VISIBILITY DID NOT DROP TO IFR THIS MORNING AND EXPECT MUCH THE SAME TUESDAY MORNING. KBRO MIGHT HAVE A SHOT...BUT HAVE KEPT JUST ABOVE AGAIN IN A TEMPO GROUP FOR NOW. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT...PICKING UP TOWARD 15 KNOTS DURING THE AFTERNOON TUESDAY WITH A FEW GUST POSSIBLE KBRO/KMFE. MARINE...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...FRONT HAS WASHED OUT...AND EXPECT LIGHT NORTHEAST TO EAST FLOW TO GRADUALLY VEER TO EAST...THEN SOUTHEAST...OVERNIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY. THOUGH GRADIENT PICKS UP A LITTLE BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON EXPECT GULF WINDS TO HOLD AT 10 KNOTS AND SLIGHT SEAS TO CONTINUE BELOW 3 FEET. COULD SEE A PERIOD OF 15 KNOT AND GUSTY WINDS ON LAGUNA MADRE BAY TUESDAY AFTERNOON...JUST BELOW CAUTION HEADLINES. ONLY OTHER ISSUE OF CONCERN IS SEA FOG. VISIBILITY AT GULF OBSERVING PLATFORMS HAVE BOUNCED BETWEEN 1 AND 4 MILES IN FOG/HAZE FOR THE PAST DAY OR SO...AND SEE NO REASON FOR ANY CHANGE GIVEN THE LIGHT WARM/HUMID FLOW OVER JUST SLIGHTLY COOLER WATERS. WILL CONTINUE MENTION OF PATCHY TO AREAS OF FOG THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT IN THESE AREAS. FOR TUESDAY NIGHT...NAM A BIT MORE ROBUST IN BRINGING A SURGE OF NORTHEAST FLOW INTO THE EXTREME NORTHERN WATERS JUST PRIOR TO DAYBREAK. FOR NOW HAVE UPPED SPEEDS TO 10-12 KNOTS RIGHT AROUND DAWN BUT WITH LIMITED COOL ADVECTION NOT CONFIDENT IN MUCH HIGHER SPEEDS AT THAT TIME. WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY...MARGINAL WINDS AND SEAS MAY APPROACH SCA CONDITIONS WED AND FRI IN THE WAKE OF WEAK COLD FRONTS. THE POTENTIAL FOR SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS MORE FAVORABLE OVER THE WEEKEND AS A STRONG SOUTHERLY FLOW DEVELOPS DUE TO STRONG CYCLOGENESIS ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS. CONDITIONS MAY DETERIORATE FURTHER LATE MONDAY AS A POTENTIAL POTENT COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BAYVIEW/PORT ISABEL 71 83 71 78 / 10 10 10 30 BROWNSVILLE 71 85 69 79 / 10 10 10 30 HARLINGEN 71 85 70 80 / 10 10 10 30 MCALLEN 71 88 71 82 / 10 10 10 30 RIO GRANDE CITY 71 89 71 81 / 10 10 10 30 SOUTH PADRE ISLAND 71 77 70 76 / 10 10 10 30 && .BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. GM...NONE. && THIS PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BROWNSVILLE SHORT TERM...FLATT-65 LONG TERM...VIPOND-57 MARINE...65/57 AVIATION...65 GRAPHICAST...MARTINEZ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 532 AM CDT MON MAR 28 2011 TXZ248>257-291045- ZAPATA-JIM HOGG-BROOKS-KENEDY-STARR-HIDALGO-INLAND WILLACY- INLAND CAMERON-COASTAL WILLACY-COASTAL CAMERON- 532 AM CDT MON MAR 28 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. AREAS OF PATCHY FOG WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE VALLEY LATER THIS MORNING AND WILL LAST THROUGH MIDMORNING BEFORE DISSIPATING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. AREAS OF FOG ARE POSSIBLE AGAIN TUESDAY MORNING WITH VISIBILITIES OF LESS THAN ONE MILE EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-291045- 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- 532 AM CDT MON MAR 28 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THE LAGUNA MADRE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. AREAS OF SEA FOG WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE NEARSHORE GULF WATERS AND THE LAGUNA MADRE THROUGH THE DAY TODAY. VISIBILITIES OF NEAR 1NM WILL BE COMMON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. PATCHY SEA FOG WILL CONTINUE TO BE PRODUCED FOR AREAS NEAR SOUTH PADRE ISLAND THROUGH MIDWEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe (D2) Drought conditions stretched into most of Cameron County by the end of March, courtesy of above to much above normal temperatures in the 80s to near 90, persistent strong winds, and no rainfall.
Severe (D2) Drought conditions stretched into most of Willacy County by the end of March, courtesy of above to much above normal temperatures in the upper 80s to lower 90s, persistent strong winds, and no rainfall.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, March 2011
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: 282695, 282697.