Frost and Freeze in Texas, January 3, 2014

Name: Frost and Freeze in Texas, January 3, 2014
Start: 2014-01-03T01:00
End: 2014-01-03T08:30
Location: Texas

January 3, 2014 · NWS BRO · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A cold front pushed across the Rio Grande Valley and Deep South Texas on the morning of January 2nd. Behind the front, drier and much colder air filtered into the region.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

A cold front pushed across the Rio Grande Valley and Deep South Texas on the morning of January 2nd. Behind the front, drier and much colder air filtered into the region. The combination of a surface ridge overhead, combined with light winds and clear skies allowed for good radiational cooling to occur, resulting in a light freeze across the northern and western ranchlands early on January 3rd.

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 Jan 2, 11:35 PM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 2, 11:35 PM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 2, 3:47 PM CST, 9 hours 13 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, Hidalgo

When: January 3, 1:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Hidalgo forecast zone
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 26.397, -98.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

After 1 am, temperatures dropped below freezing across Hidalgo County and remained at or below freezing for nearly 7 hours. The RAWS site at the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge reported a low of 30 degrees, while the RAWS site at Linn/San Manuel reported a low of 31 degrees. The Co-Op observers in San Manuel and McCook both reported lows of 32 degrees.

Frost/Freeze, Kenedy

When: January 3, 1:00 AM CST to 8:00 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 dropped to or just below freezing across Kenedy County during the early morning and remained there for several hours. A Co-Op observer in Armstrong recorded a low of 31 degrees.

Frost/Freeze, Brooks

When: January 3, 1:00 AM CST to 8:00 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 dropped to or just below freezing across Brooks County during the early morning and remained there for several hours. A Co-Op observer in Falfurrias recorded a low of 31 degrees.

Frost/Freeze, Zapata

When: January 3, 1:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Zapata forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 27.001, -99.169 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

After 1 am, temperatures dropped to freezing across Zapata County and remained there below for nearly 7 hours. A low of 32 degrees was recorded at the AWOS site in Zapata.

Frost/Freeze, Jim Hogg

When: January 3, 4:00 AM CST to 8:30 AM CST
Where: Jim Hogg forecast zone
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 27.043, -98.697 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Around 4 am, temperatures dropped below to at or just below freezing across Jim Hogg County and remained there for around four and a half hours. A low of 32 degrees was recorded at the AWOS site in Hebbronville and a low of 31 degrees was reported by the RAWS site in Hebbronville.

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

Every storm in Texas in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, January 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: 497961, 497962, 497963, 497966, 497965.