Texas, 2014

Frost and Freeze in Texas, February 6 to 7, 2014

February 6 to 7, 2014 · NWS BRO · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

The arrival of a reinforcing arctic front early on February 6th shifted winds to the northwest and allowed for strong cold air advection across the northern ranchlands and brush country. Temperatures fell into the 30s and 40s and remained there during the day on the 6th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS BRO wrote it up.

The arrival of a reinforcing arctic front early on February 6th shifted winds to the northwest and allowed for strong cold air advection across the northern ranchlands and brush country. Temperatures fell into the 30s and 40s and remained there during the day on the 6th. As high pressure continued to build south, the core of the coldest air spread across the ranchlands overnight and temperatures plummeted to freezing or below.

The cold air was accompanied by light precipitation during the early to mid morning across portions of the Rio Grande Plains/South Texas Brush Country; colder pockets received a light coating of ice on signs, fences, and high grasses, etc.

What forecasters said that day

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 6, 5:57 PM CST, 5 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 6, 5:57 PM CST, 5 hours 3 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 frost/freeze. Local standard time, as filed.

Frost/Freeze, Jim Hogg

When
February 6, 11:00 PM CST to February 7, 11:30 AM CST
Where
Jim Hogg forecast zone
Reported by
RAWS
Coordinates
27.043, -98.697 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Temperatures fell to or below freezing for a number of hours across Jim Hogg County. The Hebbronville RAWS site reported a low of 30 degrees, while the ASOS site at KHBV reported a low of 31 degrees. For a second straight day, very light precipitation accompanied the cold and froze on contact with elevated surfaces, including signs, fences, tall grass, and trees/branches. None accumulated on roads, however.

Frost/Freeze, Zapata

When
February 7, 5:00 AM CST to 8:45 AM CST
Where
Zapata forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
27.001, -99.169 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Temperatures fell to or below freezing for almost 3 hours on the morning of February 7th. The ASOS site in Zapata recorded a low of 32 degrees, while the COOP site in Escobas reported a low of 30 degrees. Very light precipitation accompanied the cold during the early to mid morning, with a light coating on signs, fences, high grass, and trees/branches. There was no impact to roads.

Frost/Freeze, Starr

When
February 7, 5:00 AM CST to 7:45 AM CST
Where
Starr forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
26.562, -98.738 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Temperatures fell to or below freezing for almost 3 hours on the morning of February 7th. The COOP site in Rio Grande City recorded a low of 31 degrees.

Frost/Freeze, Brooks

When
February 7, 5:30 AM CST to 8:45 AM CST
Where
Brooks forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
27.032, -98.219 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Temperatures fell to freezing or just below across Brooks County during the early morning hours of February 7th. The COOP observer in Falfurrias reported a low of 32 degrees. Based on surrounding observations and reports from officials in the region, very light precipitation accompanied the cold in some of the area, producing a light coating of ice on signs, fences, tall grass, and trees/branches. There was no impact to roads or the electrical grid.

Frost/Freeze, Kenedy

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 8:45 AM CST
Where
Kenedy forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
26.928, -97.636 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Temperatures fell to or just below freezing for several hours on the morning of February 7th. The COOP observer in Sarita reported a low of 31 degrees, while further south in Armstrong, the COOP observer reported a low of 32 degrees. Based on nearby observations in Kingsville, a little more than 20 miles north of Sarita, there was likely some very light precipitation that created a coating of ice on signs, fences, tall grass, and trees/branches. There was no impact to roads, bridges, or the electrical grid.

What these are

Frost/Freeze
Frost or temperatures at or below freezing during the growing season, usually filed for crop damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, February 2014

Sources

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 500241, 500238, 500239, 500243, 500242.