The combination of dry air and multi-month rainfall percentage of normal below 25 percent led to the brief development of severe drought. End of March rainfall would improve conditions to begin April 2019.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 combination of dry air and multi-month rainfall percentage of normal below 25 percent led to the brief development of severe drought. End of March rainfall would improve conditions to begin April 2019.
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 Mar 31, 5:51 PM CST, 6 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Brownsville TX
651 PM CDT Sun Mar 31 2019
.DISCUSSION...Updated for latest aviation discussion below.
&&
.AVIATION...A 500 mb short wave is moving over the RGV bringing
one more round of conv across the region. As this short wave moves
offshore in a few hours the conv will likely shut down with
generally rainfree conditions expected overnight into Mon. Low
ceilings will continue to be a problem for the RGV airports
overnight due to the lingering low level moisture. Expect a blend
of VFR/MVFR ceilings with some periods of IFR ceilings over the
next 24 hours for all three RGV airports.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 251 PM CDT Sun Mar 31 2019/
SHORT TERM (Now through Monday night): Satellite and radar
images continue to indicate elevated convection moving across the
coastal sections of the CWA as well as across the lower Texas
coastal waters this afternoon. 500mb shortwave trough across
southwest Texas this afternoon will move eastward tonight and mid
to upper level moisture will diminish across deep south Texas from
west to east as drier air aloft filters into southwest Texas in
the wake of the upper level trough. This will bring an end to the
elevated convection late tonight. Low level moisture will remain
high across the Rio Grande valley tonight into Monday and light
rain/drizzle will linger across the lower Texas coast tonight into
Monday as overrunning conditions continue as warmer air aloft
continues to moves across the shallow cooler air at the surface.
As winds diminish tonight and with the overcast cloud cover
remaining across the area...temperatures will likely hold steady
and lows tonight will be near current readings or a few degrees
cooler. Lows tonight will be near record lows for Monday, April
1st as mentioned in the previous short term forecast discussion.
The cloud cover Monday will limit diurnal heating and highs Monday
afternoon will likely be in the upper 50s to lower 60s...which
will be close to near record lowest high temperatures as mentioned
in the the previous short term forecast discussion. Lows Mon
night should be slightly warmer compared to tonight as the airmass
across the Rio Grande valley modifies and cloud cover limits
radiational cooling.
LONG TERM (Tuesday through Sunday): High pressure will be in place
over East Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley on Tuesday, with
light northeast winds, partly to mostly cloudy skies, and below
normal high temperatures around 70 degrees. As high pressure shifts
east Tuesday night, with low pressure deepening over the southern
High Plains, winds will veer to southeast and south and will then
remain light to moderate or breezy through the following weekend.
Moisture will return over the area on Wednesday with a few coastal
showers possible during the day. Temperatures will be much closer to
normal on Wednesday, with lows near 60 and highs from the upper 70s
to near 80. A cold front will push into South Central Texas on
Thursday, but it appears to pull up short of the CWA with the
rapidly west-to-east translating short wave farther to the north.
High pressure will not be able to push into the RGV. High temps on
Thursday and on Friday will push well into the 80s under a mix of
clouds and sun, and with a mid level ridge transiting across Texas.
As the ridge breaks on late in the week, a short wave trough will
set up to the west, over North Central Mexico. The diffluence
downstream, over the Sierra Madres, looks interesting, and may
trigger some convection over the terrain, which may tend to drift
toward the upper valley of the RGV Friday night into Saturday. The
upper low and front will lift over West and North Texas Saturday and
Sunday. The GFS develops a secondary mid level low and front which
follows on the heels of the first, with a front pushing through the
area Tuesday morning. The ECMWF does not develop the Tuesday front
since the original short wave trough is shallower and not as well
developed over deep South Texas.
MARINE:
Now through Monday night: Seas were near 10 feet with north winds
near 21 knots at buoy020 this afternoon. Strong north winds will
continue across the coastal waters this afternoon before beginning
to diminish across the Laguna Madre this evening and the offshore
waters tonight as the pressure gradient weakens across the lower
Texas coast. Light to moderate north winds will prevail across the
Laguna Madre tonight so will expire the SCA for the bay waters at
6 pm. As far as the offshore winds...moderate to strong north to
northeast winds will diminish after midnight but seas will remain
elevated across the far offshore waters. Will extend SCA for the
nearshore waters through midnight and for the far offshore waters
through 4 am Monday. Light to moderate northeast winds will
prevail across the lower Texas coast Monday through Mon night with
surface high pressure across east Texas.
Tuesday through Friday night: Initially northeast winds on Tuesday
will shift to moderate southeast and south winds from Tuesday night
through Friday night. These winds will be accompanied by moderate
seas.
&&
.BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...High Rip Current Risk through Monday morning for TXZ256-257-351.
GM...Small Craft Advisory until 9 PM CDT this evening for GMZ130-132-
135.
Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM CDT Monday for GMZ170-175.
Small Craft Advisory until midnight CDT tonight for GMZ150-155.
&&
This product is also available on the web at:
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RGV
Short Term/Aviation...60
Long Term...64
Graphicast/Upper Air...67Hazardous Weather Outlook...Updated National Weather Service Brownsville TX 1045 PM CDT Sun Mar 31 2019 TXZ248>255-353-011100- Zapata-Jim Hogg-Brooks-Inland Kenedy-Starr-Southern Hidalgo-Inland Willacy-Inland Cameron-Northern Hidalgo- 1045 PM CDT Sun Mar 31 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Deep South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley .DAY ONE...Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday Friday Night and Saturday: Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are expected. Some storms may be capable of producing gusty winds, frequent cloud to ground lightning, and small hail. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. TXZ256-257-351-011100- Coastal Willacy-Coastal Cameron-Coastal Kenedy- 1045 PM CDT Sun Mar 31 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Deep South Texas. .DAY ONE...Tonight High intensity rip currents will make swimming dangerous on the beaches of South Padre Island and Boca Chica tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday Moderate intensity rip currents will continue Monday. South to north moderate intensity longshore currents are expected on Wednesday. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are expected Friday night and Saturday. Stronger storms may be capable of producing gusty winds, frequent cloud to ground lightning, and small hail. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-011100- 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- 1045 PM CDT Sun Mar 31 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of The Gulf of Mexico and The Laguna Madre. .DAY ONE...Tonight Small Craft Advisories remain in effect for the lower Texas Gulf waters tonight due to elevated seas. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday South to southeast winds may approach 20 knots with higher gusts on Laguna Madre Wednesday afternoon, and the same speeds on the Gulf Wednesday night. Southeast winds may approach 20 knots on Friday night over the Gulf waters. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are expected Friday night and Saturday. Stronger cells will produce frequent cloud to water lightning, brief downpours reducing visibility to or below 1 nautical mile, wind gusts to 30 knots, and perhaps small hail. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. Speece
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe (D2) Drought continued briefly into the first day of April, based on the US Drought Monitor, over extreme southern Jim Hogg County. Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall over this area on March 30th, 2019, would improve conditions by two categories (D2 to D0) on April 2nd.
Severe (D2) Drought continued briefly into the first day of April, based on the US Drought Monitor, over extreme northern Starr County. Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall over this area on March 30th, 2019, would improve conditions by two categories (D2 to D0) on April 2nd.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2019
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: 822255, 822257.