March started dry and ended drier. Other than spotty streamer showers and sprinkles across the Lower Rio Grande Valley and a sole decaying supercell that dropped a little more than a third of an inch of rain and golf ball sized hail in Falfurrias just before midnight on the 31st, rain was non-existent in March 2012.
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.
March started dry and ended drier. Other than spotty streamer showers and sprinkles across the Lower Rio Grande Valley and a sole decaying supercell that dropped a little more than a third of an inch of rain and golf ball sized hail in Falfurrias just before midnight on the 31st, rain was non-existent in March 2012. The lack of rainfall and numerous bone dry days allowed conditions to worsen and the month ended with the entire region in Extreme (D3) to Exceptional (D4) drought.
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 Feb 28, 11:33 PM CST, 27 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 1133 PM CST THU FEB 28 2013 .DISCUSSION...UPDATED FOR LATEST AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. && .AVIATION...GOOD FLYING WEATHER THE NEXT 24 HOURS WITH VFR CONDITIONS DOMINATING. HIGH CLOUDS TO MOVE OFF TO THE SOUTHEAST BEFORE 18Z WITH CLEAR SKIES THEREAFTER. SURFACE WINDS NORTHEAST BELOW 10 KNOTS TO VEER EAST BY 00Z FRIDAY. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 601 PM CST THU FEB 28 2013/ DISCUSSION...UPDATED FOR LATEST AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NEXT 24 HOURS. BREEZY NORTHEAST WINDS WILL BEGIN TO DECREASE AFTER SUNSET. LIGHT WINDS EXPECTED TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. PASSING HIGH CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 151 PM CST THU FEB 28 2013/ SHORT TERM /NOW THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/...DRY NORTH TO NORTHEASTERLY FLOW CONTINUES ACROSS ABOUT THE EASTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON AS RIDGING BUILDS IN OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. FROM ABOUT HEBBRONVILLE WESTWARD THE FLOW IS MORE NORTH NORTHWESTERLY. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT IS SLOWLY RELAXING AND WIND SPEEDS SHOULD SLOWLY DECREASE AND THEN DROP OFF TO ABOUT 6 TO 8 MPH AFTER SUNSET. RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL REMAIN QUITE LOW WITH TEMPS HEADING INTO THE UPPER 60S TO LOW 70S EXCEPT RIGHT ALONG THE COAST WHERE COOL ONSHORE FLOW IS LIMITING THE EFFECT OF DAYTIME HEATING. TRANSIENT HIGH CLOUDS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF A 150KT JET MAX OVER NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS WILL KEEP UP THROUGH THE REST OF THE DAY AS WELL. TONIGHT...WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHT AS THE RIDGE AXIS WORKS INTO THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA. TRANSIENT HIGH CLOUDS THE ONLY REAL SENSIBLE WEATHER FEATURE. WINDS WILL REMAIN MORE STEADY OVER THE GULF WATERS AT ABOUT 10 TO 12 KNOTS. DEW POINTS WILL STAY QUITE LOW AND THE LIGHT WINDS SHOULD FAVOR PRETTY FAIR RADIATIONAL COOLING...BUT MIDDLE AND HIGH CLOUDS SHOULD KEEP LOWS FROM REALLY BOTTOMING OUT. THE COLDEST TEMPS WILL BE IN THE NORTHERNMOST STRETCHES OF THE CWA WHERE THE LOWEST CLOUD COVER IS EXPECTED. FRIDAY...UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS APPROACHES THROUGH THE DAY ON FRIDAY. THE MIDDLE AND HIGH CLOUDS SHOULD GET OUT OF THE WAY BY MID TO LATE MORNING SETTING UP A MOSTLY SUNNY IF NOT TOTALLY CLEAR DAY FOR MUCH OF THE DAY WITH VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND A VERY WEAK SFC PRESSURE GRADIENT WITH RIDGING PARKED BASICALLY RIGHT OVERHEAD. NAM12/GFS40 BOTH SHOW A SEA BREEZE BOUNDARY WORKING AND SHIFTING THE WINDS TO THE EAST. HOWEVER WITH 64 DEGREE NEAR SHORE WATER TEMPS AND MAX TEMPS INLAND ONLY IN THE 72 TO 75 RANGE...WHICH FAVORED MET/ECM MOS...DO NOT EXPECT IT WILL BE A PARTICULARLY PROMINENT FEATURE. FRIDAY NIGHT...ANOTHER SURFACE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BE ON THE MOVE THROUGH THE AREA FRIDAY NIGHT. MAKING FAIRLY QUICK WORK OF THE CWA BETWEEN ABOUT MIDNIGHT AND 6AM. WINDS WILL PICK UP OUT OF THE NORTH AT ABOUT 6 TO 12 MPH WITH PASSAGE OF THE FRONT. USHERING IN EVEN DRYER NEAR SURFACE AIR. TEMPS ARE A LITTLE BIT OF A CHALLENGE. MOST OF THE CLOUD COVER SHOULD BE OVER THE WATER OR NEAR THE COAST WHERE THE BEST...IF ANY REAL LOWER LEVEL MOISTURE WILL BE PRESENT...BUT WINDS MAY PICK UP ENOUGH TO CUT THE RADIATIONAL COOLING PROCESS SHORT DURING THE NIGHT. COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL LIKELY NOT BE ENOUGH TO MAKE A HUGE DENT EITHER...SO THE NET RESULT IS LOW TEMPS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN RADIATION WOULD OTHERWISE ALLOW BUT NOT AS LOW AS TOTALLY STOPPING THE COOLING PROCESS. UPPER 30S NORTH...LOW TO MID 40S SOUTH. LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/...AN AMPLIFIED MID LEVEL PATTERN WILL BE IN PLACE SATURDAY...WITH RIDGING OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES COUNTERBALANCED BY A TROUGH OVER MUCH OF THE EAST. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE FLOWING SOUTH UNDER THE LEADING EDGE OF THE RIDGE...PULSING INTO SOUTH TEXAS DURING THE DAY. PIECES OF THE FIRE WEATHER PUZZLE MAY MISS EACH OTHER LIKE TWO STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT...AS SLIGHTLY STRONGER NORTHWEST WINDS IN THE MORNING WEAKEN IN THE AFTERNOON EVEN AS RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES DECREASE. FIRE DANGER WILL BE ENHANCED TO SOME EXTENT. SEE THE FIRE WEATHER DISCUSSION BELOW. THE PULSE WILL SPEND ITSELF QUICKLY...SHIFTING EAST SATURDAY NIGHT WITH WINDS VEERING TO SOUTHEAST BY SUNDAY MORNING. THIS WILL SET UP A RETURN FLOW SCENARIO WHERE THE RIDGE WILL MAKE WAY FOR PLAINS LOW PRESSURE TO ENHANCE SOUTH WINDS SUNDAY AND MONDAY. THE CHANCE OF RAIN WILL REMAIN LOW...AS A WEAK FRONT APPROACHES MONDAY NIGHT TO TUESDAY MORNING...MAKING NARY A DENT POP WISE. EXTRA CLOUDINESS IS ALL THAT WILL IN THE FORECAST FOR FROPA TUESDAY MORNING. NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS WILL THEN BE ON TAP AS A FOLLOW ON SECOND RIDGE BUILDS OVERHEAD. THIS WILL BE THE SITUATION INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE HIGH PRESSURE SOURCE OF THE TUESDAY FRONT MOVES OVER THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES AND MID ATLANTIC. THUS... COOL AND SEASONAL WEATHER SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...FOLLOWED BY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS ON MONDAY...FOLLOWED BY COOLING AGAIN TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. MARINE... NOW THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...WINDS ARE DECREASING ACROSS THE GULF WATERS BUT REPORTS FROM BUOY 42020 INDICATE ROUGH SEAS PERSIST... THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGH 400 PM. TONIGHT WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE AT OR JUST BELOW EXERCISE CAUTION CONDITIONS OUT OF THE NORTH ALONG THE GULF WATERS AND FAIRLY LIGHT OUT OF THE NORTH TO NORTHEAST ON THE LAGUNA WITH SEAS BECOMING MODERATE. FRIDAY LIGHT TO MODERATE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE EASTERLY WITH LOW TO MODERATE SEAS. ANOTHER FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH FROM THE NORTH...LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY MORNING...PRODUCING MARGINAL SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS AND ROUGHENING SEAS. SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...INCREASING NORTHWEST WINDS WILL BE IN PLAY SATURDAY MORNING AS A PULSE OF HIGH PRESSURE SPREADS OVER THE MARINE AREAS. EXERCISE CAUTION CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY GRADUATE TO BRIEF LOW END SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS ON THE GULF FOR THE DAY. SEAS WILL PROBABLY STAY BELOW SEVEN FEET HOWEVER. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE ON SUNDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE FLATTENS OVER THE AREA... BUT LOW PRESSURE TO THE NORTH WILL INITIATE RETURN FLOW LATE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...WITH 20 TO 25 KNOT SOUTH WINDS MOST OF MONDAY... AND SEAS BUILDING TO SEVEN OR EIGHT FEET OFFSHORE. A WEAK FRONT WILL PUSH OFFSHORE TUESDAY MORNING...WITH HIGH PRESSURE AND STRONGER NORTHEAST WINDS IN ITS WAKE LIKELY REQUIRING A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY. FIRE WEATHER...20 FOOT WINDS AROUND 12 TO 16 MPH CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES BETWEEN 15 AND 25 PERCENT. AN ELEVATED RISK OF WILDFIRE GROWTH AND SPREAD CONTINUES THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL DROP AGAIN TOMORROW TO ABOUT 12 TO 17 PERCENT...EXCEPT VERY CLOSE TO THE COAST...BUT WINDS ARE FORECAST TO BE TOO LOW FOR SIGNIFICANT WILDFIRE GROWTH CONCERNS. A PUSH OF NORTH WIND IS EXPECTED SATURDAY BEHIND A FRONTAL BOUNDARY. WINDS AND LOW RH WILL LIKELY REACH ELEVATED FIRE DANGER STATUS...AND POSSIBLY REACH CRITICAL LEVELS IN THE LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS...BUT THE WINDS MAY DIE DOWN BEFORE MINIMUM RH IN THE AFTERNOON...SO CONFIDENCE IS TOO LOW FOR A FIRE WEATHER WATCH THIS AFTERNOON. && .BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. GM...NONE. && THIS PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT: HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RGV 59/64
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 419 PM CST THU FEB 28 2013 GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-012230- 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- 419 PM CST THU FEB 28 2013 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...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ANOTHER FRONT IS EXPECTED TO SWEEP THROUGH THE COASTAL WATERS ON SATURDAY...BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND OF ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. TXZ248>257-012230- ZAPATA-JIM HOGG-BROOKS-KENEDY-STARR-HIDALGO-INLAND WILLACY- INLAND CAMERON-COASTAL WILLACY-COASTAL CAMERON- 419 PM CST THU FEB 28 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS AT AREA BEACHES THROUGH TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. AN ENHANCED RISK OF RIP CURRENTS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY. BREEZY CONDITIONS AND DRY RH VALUES WILL BRING A THREAT FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING THE AFTERNOON SATURDAY. .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.
Despite, little to no rain falling across Coastal Cameron County during the month (Co-Op observers in Port Isabel and South Padre Island reported only 0.02 to 0.03 inches of rainfall for the entire month), drought conditions remained steady, with the entire area draped in extreme (D3) drought conditions.
Despite no rain falling across Coastal Willacy County during the month, drought conditions remained steady, with the entire area draped in extreme (D3) drought conditions.
Little to no rain fell across Hidalgo County and only a trace of rainfall was reported during the entire month of March at the McAllen Miller Airport and at by a CoCoRaHS observer in Pharr. This lack of rain allowed for drought conditions to deteriorate across the county, with all of the county entrenched in exceptional (D4) drought conditions by the 12th of the month.
Despite a lack of rainfall during the month, drought conditions across Willacy County remained fairly steady. The majority of the county remained in extreme (D3) drought conditions, while a sliver of exceptional (D4) drought conditions along the western border, slowly crept eastward by the middle of the month.
March proved to be a rather dry month across Kenedy County. Pockets of light rain fell on March 8th, 0.03 inches was reported in Armstrong and 0.02 inches was reported in Sarita by Co-Op observers; however this was not enough to allow drought conditions to improve. Extreme (D4) drought conditions continued to push further southeast across the county, resulting in all of the county in extreme (D4) drought conditions by the 19th.
A general lack of rainfall during the first two weeks of the month allowed drought conditions to intensify, but a few showers and thunderstorms over the last half of the month allowed drought conditions to hold steady. Drought conditions intensified across much of Brooks County through the 12th of the month and then held steady. At the beginning of the month, much of the county except for the very far southwest corner remained in extreme (D3) drought conditions. By the 12th all of the county was entrenched in exceptional (D4) drought conditions.
A lack of rain during the first half of March, allowed drought conditions to worsen across the county. By the end of the first full week of the month, the county had been split into thirds, with the northwest third of the county clinging onto Severe (D2) drought conditions, the middle third holding steady in Extreme (D3) drought conditions, and the southeast third sliding into Exceptional (D4) drought conditions.
Little to no rain fell across Starr County through the first week of March. A continued lack of rain allowed drought conditions to deteriorate. The western half of the county previously in severe (D2) drought conditions slid into extreme (D3) drought conditions, while the far southeast corner of the county slid into exceptional (D4) drought conditions.
While pockets of Cameron County received showers on March 8th (the ASOS at KBRO reported only 0.26 inches, while the ASOS at KHRL reported only 0.01 inches), it was not enough to keep drought conditions at bay or to allow for any improvements. The lack of rain allowed drought conditions to intensify across the middle of the county, where severe (D2) drought conditions became extreme (D3) drought conditions. This resulted in the entire county being in extreme (D3) drought conditions.
Extreme (D3) Drought would continue across nearly all of Jim Hogg County to begin March, as very dry, breezy, and mild days set the stage for further deterioration by mid month.
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, March 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: 439424, 439426, 439429, 439439, 439442, 439520, 440468, 440469, 440482, 443437.