A 22-year-old man drowned after being caught within rip currents off Galveston Island.
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The episode as NWS HGX wrote it up.
A 22-year-old man drowned after being caught within rip currents off Galveston Island.
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 Houston/Galveston, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 4, 5:28 PM CST, 4 hours 32 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX 628 PM CDT Thu Jul 4 2019 .AVIATION [00Z TAF Issuance]... Essentially a wind and ceiling forecast ahead, as showers/storms have not managed to crop up today, and are equally unlikely to form tomorrow. Mixed signal in the guidance as to whether we'll see low MVFR/IFR ceilings early in the morning - for the most part am going with a persistence forecast here. Otherwise, we'll look for generally onshore flow, decreasing overnight, and returning to around/just below 10 knots tomorrow. && .PREV DISCUSSION /Issued 301 PM CDT Thu Jul 4 2019/... .DISCUSSION... Relatively quiet period of weather on tap next several days with surface high edging into the area from the SE...and resulting anticyclonic flow and general subsidence at the surface. This general flow surface flow pattern...with ridging...holds until at least next Tuesday. Beyond that some possibility rain chances would increase by Thursday and beyond as disturbances make a run at Southeast TX from the east...rippling along the southern flank of the upper ridge. ECMWF and GFS have a surface cyclone as well...in the northern Gulf of Mexico by day 7...next Thursday...a result of a frontal development along a back door cold front dropping down through the Southeastern states. Once it gets over the Gulf...this model system likely a hybrid perhaps deriving energy from warm Gulf waters. No real concern about this but something to watch for next week...perhaps a rain producer for some portion of the Gulf coast region. 18 .NEAR TERM [Rest of afternoon and evening]... Clouds are mixing out and and most areas will remain dry this evening. PW values remain between 1.70-1.80 inches and daytime heating could still trigger a late afternoon shower or thunderstorm. 43 .SHORT TERM [Later Tonight Through Friday]... PW values are progged to lower to around 1.50 inches later tonight. Fcst soundings and cross sections show skies clearing over most of the CWA with the best potential for clouds near the coast through 06z. Weather should not be a limiting factor for viewing fireworks tonight. Later tonight, clouds will begin to develop. The added insulation from the clouds should keep morning temperatures a bit warmer than last night. On Friday, mixing should allow clouds to erode by late morning and skies should become mostly sunny by afternoon. 850 mb temperatures will warm and taking these values down dry adiabatically will support high temperatures in the mid 90's. Although sfc dew points also mix out a bit, maximum heat index values on Friday will approach 105 degrees. The usual summer heat safety tips apply like wear loose fitting clothing, find some shade and drink plenty of water. Lower PW values and subsidence from an expanding 594 dm upper ridge over the Gulf should limit rain chances on Friday. 43 .LONG TERM [Friday Night Through Wednesday]... Friday Night through Tuesday...Surface flow generally anticyclonic with surface high edging in from the SE. At 500 mb also under influence of high heights and anticyclonic flow. General subsidence and corresponding inversion associated with this pattern. Cant rule out an isolated shower or storm with afternoon heating but most areas should remain dry through this period. Wednesday and Thursday...Dry pattern begins to break down with upper level high retrograding off to the NW and cyclone at surface and aloft approaches from the east steered by flow on SE flank of the upper high. As mentioned in the discussion overview both operational ECMWF and GFS show this feature moving toward the west. Not out of the question this could be a hybrid system should it play out as advertised with the cyclone originally forming along a back door cold front...moves out over the warm Gulf waters. Still a long way out to see how it plays out...but something to watch in the days ahead. 18 .MARINE... Surface high pressure over the western Gulf of Mexico will keep winds light through the weekend. A diurnal pattern of slightly stronger winds at night and lighter during the day should become established late in the weekend and continue into mid week. Elevated tide levels are expected to diminish as onshore winds diminish. Guidance still pointing to a good deal of convective development taking place in the NE Gulf Monday through Friday with an upper level low/shear axis. Just something to be aware of as it may retrograde back under the upper ridge to the west late in the week. 43 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... College Station (CLL) 75 95 73 95 73 / 0 0 0 0 0 Houston (IAH) 77 95 74 94 75 / 0 0 0 0 0 Galveston (GLS) 81 90 80 89 80 / 0 0 0 0 0 && .HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. GM...None. && NEAR TERM...43 SHORT TERM...43 LONG TERM...18 AVIATION...Luchs MARINE...43
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 22 -year-old male swimmer drowned after being caught within rip currents near the 29th Street Jetty.
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, Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula | 2019-07-04 | 22 | Male | In Water | Direct |
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, July 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: 823729.