The first week of August picked up where the last week of July left off for the Rio Grande Valley and Deep South Texas. With high pressure ridging across the southern Plains and northern Mexico, La Canicula was in full swing.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
The first week of August picked up where the last week of July left off for the Rio Grande Valley and Deep South Texas. With high pressure ridging across the southern Plains and northern Mexico, La Canicula was in full swing. This pattern suppressed precipitation and allowed for abundant sunshine and above average hot temperatures, with daytime temperatures 3 to 5 degrees above normal for the period.
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 Jul 31, 5:27 PM CST, 6 hours 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 627 PM CDT WED JUL 31 2013 .DISCUSSION...UPDATED FOR LATEST AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. && .AVIATION...GUSTY WINDS CURRENTLY AT THE TAF SITES WILL DECREASE AFTER SUNSET WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING. WITH HIGH PRESSURE LOCATED OVER THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO...WINDS WILL CONTINUE FROM THE SOUTHEAST. THIS WILL ALSO BRING IN HIGH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. AS LIKE THE LAST COUPLE OF NIGHTS...EXPECT MVFR STRATUS TO DEVELOP AND MOVE ACROSS THE TERMINALS OVERNIGHT. LINING UP TIMING WITH THE PAST TWO NIGHTS PUTS THE BEST PROBABILITY IN THE 10-13Z TIMEFRAME AND WILL REMAIN TEMPORARY. AFT 13Z...EXPECT VFR WITH TYPICAL AFTERNOON CUMULUS AND WINDS PICKING UP AND BECOMING GUSTY BUT NOT AS HIGH AS THE PAST FEW DAYS...UP TO AROUND 20 KNOTS AT TIMES. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 210 PM CDT WED JUL 31 2013/ SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/...WITH MID LEVEL RIDGING CENTERED UPSTREAM OVER THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES...AND BROAD HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDING ACROSS THE GULF AND INTO TEXAS... SHORT TERM WEATHER WILL REMAIN BENIGN...WITH ELEVATED TEMPERATURES THE MAIN ISSUE. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO RUN ABOVE SEASONAL NORMS BY A FEW DEGREES...MEANING MID TO UPPER 70S AT NIGHT AND FROM NEAR 90 AT THE COAST TO THE MIDDLE OF THE FIRST DECADE ABOVE THE CENTURY MARK FOR THE UPPER VALLEY...NEAR 105. HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL ALSO APPROACH 105 ACROSS MUCH OF THE INTERIOR CWA THURSDAY...AND THIS WILL BE A BIGGER ISSUE NEAR THE COAST WHERE INCREASED MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN A LARGER DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN ACTUAL AND APPARENT TEMPERATURES. LOWER DEW POINTS WEST OF U.S. 281 WILL NOT INFLUENCE THE ACTUAL HEAT THERE AS MUCH...EVEN THOUGH TEMPERATURES WILL STILL BE ABOVE NORMAL. OTHERWISE...EXPECT MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES EXCEPT PARTLY CLOUDY WITH AFTERNOON CU DEVELOPMENT NEARER THE COAST. MODERATE SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHT AT NIGHT. ALMOST NIL RAIN CHANCES OVER LAND. LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...DOMINANT H5 RIDGE CONTINUES TO SPIN ABOVE THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS INTO NEXT WEEK. SUBSIDENCE HAS BEEN CONSISTENT...AND WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPRESS ALL BUT THE MOST STUBBORN OF SEABREEZE CLOUDS. MODELS ARE INDICATING A BRIEF INCREASE IN MOISTURE SURGING NWWD ACROSS THE NORTHERN GULF ON SATURDAY...BUT WITH SUBSIDENCE NOT WEAKENING AT THE SAME TIME...WILL ONLY INCREASE CLOUD COVER SOME AND NOT ADD POPS. MOISTURE DEPART SUNDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH LITTLE RELIEF IN SIGHT. MARINE... TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...LIGHT TO MODERATE SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH WINDS AND LOW TO MODERATE SEAS WILL PREVAIL AS BROAD HIGH PRESSURE DOMINATES ACROSS THE LOWER TEXAS COAST AND MUCH OF THE GULF. LIGHT ISOLATED STREAMER SHOWERS MOVING NORTH ALONG THE COAST TODAY MAY REPEAT THURSDAY. FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...NOT MUCH CHANGE INTO THE EXTENDED FORECAST WITH HIGH PRESSURE TO THE EAST AND WEAK LOW PRESSURE WELL TO THE NORTH. WINDS WILL REMAIN IN THE 10 TO 15 KNOT RANGE THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WITH SEAS REMAINING 3 FEET OR LESS INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. NO ADVISORIES EXPECTED. A COUPLE SHOWERS MAY CONTINUE TO POP UP...MAINLY ACROSS THE FAR OFFSHORE WATERS ON SATURDAY...BUT SHOWERS WILL BE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. && .BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. GM...NONE. && THIS PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT: HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RGV 55
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 501 AM CDT WED JUL 31 2013 TXZ248>257-011000- ZAPATA-JIM HOGG-BROOKS-KENEDY-STARR-HIDALGO-INLAND WILLACY- INLAND CAMERON-COASTAL WILLACY-COASTAL CAMERON- 501 AM CDT WED JUL 31 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 100 TO 107 ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 102 TO 108 ARE EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-011000- 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- 501 AM CDT WED JUL 31 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THE LAGUNA MADRE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions ensured that Zapata County saw no improvements in drought conditions during the first week of August. The eastern half of the county remained in Severe (D2) drought conditions, while the western half of the county remained in Moderate (D1) drought conditions.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions ensured that Jim Hogg saw no improvements in drought conditions during the first week of August. The eastern two thirds of the county in remained in Extreme (D3) drought conditions, while the western third of the county remained in Severe (D2) drought conditions.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions ensured that Starr saw no improvements in drought conditions during the first week of August. Starr County remained split with the far southeastern corner of the county in Exceptional (D4) drought conditions, the western third of the county in Severe (D2) drought conditions, and the remainder of the county in Extreme (D3) drought conditions.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions ensured that Brooks County saw no improvements in drought conditions during the first week of August. The county remained primarily entrenched in Extreme (D3) drought conditions, except for a sliver of Severe (D2) drought along the far northern county border.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions ensured that Hidalgo County saw no improvements in drought conditions during the first week of August. Exceptional (D4) drought remained draped across a huge swath of the county from the southwest corner of the county east to near Weslaco to just south of Linn-San Manuel, while the remainder of the county remained in Extreme (D3) drought conditions.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions ensured that Kenedy County saw no improvements in drought conditions during the first week of August. All of Kenedy County remained firmly planted in Extreme (D3) drought.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions ensured that Willacy County saw no improvements in drought conditions during the first week of August. All of Willacy County remained firmly planted in Extreme (D3) drought.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions ensured that Coastal Willacy County saw no improvements in drought conditions during. August. All of Coastal Willacy County remained firmly planted in Extreme (D3) drought.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions ensured that Coastal Cameron County saw no improvements in drought conditions during August. All of Coastal Cameron County remained firmly planted in Extreme (D3) drought.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions ensured that Cameron County saw no improvements in drought conditions during the first week of August. All of Cameron County remained firmly planted in Extreme (D3) drought.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, August 2013
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: 467747, 467748, 467749, 467750, 467751, 467752, 467753, 467754, 467755, 467756.