Individual was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico on South Padre Island, during a day with a moderate risk of rip currents and rough surf. A 22 year old male went missing while swimming near the Bridgeport Condominiums near the 300 block of Padre Boulevard.
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.
Individual was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico on South Padre Island, during a day with a moderate risk of rip currents and rough surf. A 22 year old male went missing while swimming near the Bridgeport Condominiums near the 300 block of Padre Boulevard. His body was recovered on October 11.
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 Oct 8, 11:45 AM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service BROWNSVILLE TX
1245 PM CDT Sat Oct 8 2016
.DISCUSSION...Updated for latest aviation discussion below.
&&
.AVIATION...Cold front moved through this morning. Moderate and
gusty north northeast winds will slowly stabilize and decrease
tonight and tomorrow as high pressure filters into the area. Some
low level cloudiness will persist, with high clouds moving
overhead from the southwest, but conditions should remain mostly
VFR. Model guidance wants to keep some rain in the forecast for
the lower valley on Sunday, especially along the coast based on a
lingering weak coastal trough. Thus, a few small showers may
materialize along a weak convergence zone.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 836 AM CDT Sat Oct 8 2016/
DISCUSSION...Reduced pops for post front conditions. Front moved
south of the CWA and significant rain has ended. Temps and dew
points inland have decreased into the 60s, with the Lower Valley
lagging as cooler air filters in.
MARINE...Stronger observed winds and wave heights at the
offshore buoy met small craft advisory criteria, so issued a SCA
offshore through the morning update. Will monitor for a decision
at the morning update.
PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 651 AM CDT Sat Oct 8 2016/
DISCUSSION...Updated for latest aviation discussion below.
AVIATION...Surface obs from around the RGV indicate that the
cold front is just passing over the BRO area this morning with
light north to northeast winds building over Deep South TX in its
wake. KBRO radar shows scattered echoes mostly to the south of
the RGV moving west southwest. A few isold showers have broken out
over Cameron County and just offshore moving to the southwest. NAM
forecast soundings indicate drier air will start moving into the
area from the north at all levels of the atms over the next 24
hours. This will likely result in VFR ceilings with some brief
reductions to MVFR levels early this morning.
PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 420 AM CDT Sat Oct 8 2016/
SHORT TERM (Now through Sunday): Although the surface obs from
around the area show a light north to northeast surface wind...the
latest radar mosaic from over the region shows what appears to be
the actual front over southern Kenedy...Willacy and Hidalgo
counties moving south. KBRO radar also shows conv continuing to
the south of the RGV moving WSW with some isold conv developing
over Cameron County.
The short term model guidance maintains surface and mid level
ridging over the area through Sunday with the cold front gradually
pushing south of the area. With the ridging prevailing over the
region the atms will be gradually drying out and stabilizing with
time reducing the conv potential a bit. However despite the drying
of the atms the short term model pop guidance hint at some potential
for isold weak conv persisting into Sunday. The GFS is the most
aggressive in holding onto pops for the weekend with the NAM
actually showing better pops for tomorrow. So will opt for a model
blend for pops through Sunday which maintains some conv especially
across the southernmost tip of TX.
The GFS temps come in the coolest of the three short term model sets
mainly due to their higher pops while the ECMWF has the warmest
short term temps. CAA in the wake of this front will likely be
pretty weak. In addition the daytime heating should negate any CAA
that occurs. The main impact will be the reduction in low level
dewpoints throughout tomorrow.
Will opt for temps closer to the NAM/ECMWF numbers as believe the
cooler GFS number are a bit overdone.
LONG TERM (Sunday Night through Friday Night): Mid level ridging
and broad surface high pressure will dominate much of the forecast
period. A weak mid level trough moving across the Southern Plains
Monday into Tuesday will reinforce mid level and surface dry air.
Low temperatures Sunday night and Monday night will range from the
upper 50s across the Northern Ranchlands to the mid to upper 60s
across the Rio Grande Valley. High temperatures will range from the
upper 80s along the beaches to the low 90s at most locations through
the period. Low level moisture will begin to increase towards the
end of the week resulting in a slight chance of showers offshore and
possible some sea breeze activity. As moisture slowly increases,
temperatures will gradually increase, especially overnight lows.
MARINE: Now through Sunday...Buoy020 reports an ENE wind at 15g19kts
with swells around 5 ft. The marine conditions should remain near
SCEC criteria throughout today and tonight with the PGF starting
to weaken tomorrow allowing for the winds and seas to decrease.
Some brief SCA conditions may be possible over the next 24 hours
across the Gulf waters but will not post any SCA at this time.
Sunday Night through Wednesday Night: light to moderate winds and
low to moderate seas will prevail through the period as surface high
pressure persists across the northern Gulf of Mexico.
&&
.BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...None.
GM...Small Craft Advisory until 1 PM CDT this afternoon for GMZ170-
175.
&&
This product is also available on the web at:
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RGV
54/59HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 748 AM CDT SAT OCT 8 2016 TXZ248>257-091300- ZAPATA-JIM HOGG-BROOKS-KENEDY-STARR-HIDALGO-INLAND WILLACY- INLAND CAMERON-COASTAL WILLACY-COASTAL CAMERON- 748 AM CDT SAT OCT 8 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS AT AREA BEACHES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AN ELEVATED RISK OF RIP CURRENTS WILL BE POSSIBLE AT AREA BEACHES THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-091300- 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- 748 AM CDT SAT OCT 8 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THE LAGUNA MADRE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE OFFSHORE WATERS THIS MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 22 year old male swimming in the Gulf of Mexico on South Padre Island, near the 300 block of Padre Boulevard drowned in a rip current. His body was recovered on October 11 farther down the beach.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Coastal Cameron | 2016-10-08 | 22 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, October 2016
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: 663094.