Rip currents led to two fatalities along beaches in Matagorda and Brazoria Counties.
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 HGX wrote it up.
Rip currents led to two fatalities along beaches in Matagorda and Brazoria Counties.
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 May 26, 11:48 AM CST, 4 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX 1248 PM CDT Sun May 26 2019 .AVIATION... Another breezy and gusty day with sct to bkn clouds likely in the lower end of VFR through the rest of the afternoon. Should see increase in MVFR cigs later tonight with a relaxing in the winds some which will hold through most of the day tomorrow. Evans && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 435 AM CDT Sun May 26 2019/ DISCUSSION... Eastern Texas weather under the continued suppressive control of southeastern U.S.- centered upper ridging. One recent (minor) caveat has been that of a slightly drier air mass recently advected in from the Gulf upon southerly steering flow. Resultant lower 70 F dew points will be best felt during the overnight hours as minimum temperatures fall closer to their near 70 F late May standards. Daily conditions remain carbon copy from the day before...upper 80s to lower 90s by the early afternoon with mid afternoon %RHs bottoming out in the bearable lower to middle 50 percentile. Another caveat of note may be a slightly hazy appearance to the sky from smoke emanating from fires burning in Mexico...from the east coast around to Campeche and the Yucatan Peninsula. Expect the occasional sprinkle or very brief early day shower across the southern third of the CWA through Memorial Day. Energy diving into the Great Basin from California will carve out a large trough through tomorrow. Heading into Tuesday shortwave disturbances will eject from this broad open wave trough and into the north central Plains. This will aid in pulling the main trough axis east and this will work on our currently anchored southern U.S. ridging. At the same time another lobe of southern energy will swing around from the west coast and into the Desert Southwest...entering the Big Bend region early Wednesday. This vort max will be entering a less stable, heated and more humid Central and Eastern Texas environment. This energy will take a northeastern ride up and over the East Gulf upper ridge. This will be the impetus to a possible QLCS riding across Oklahoma and northern Texas during the day Wednesday. As of now, this mesoscale feature is anticipated to spit out cool pool-induced outflow boundaries into our forecast area...increasing convective chances into the moderate (40%) category on Thursday. Our downstream Thursday environment will lack bulk shear but this will be made up in the thermodynamics. Greater than 2k CAPE/-5 L.I./25-35 K indices indicate widespread northern into central county daytime thunderstorms. All of the above has to unfold through late May to give the area the best chances for showers and storms on Thursday. High pressure builds in from late Thursday on into the first weekend of June. Models are all over the place concerning next weekend's rain chances. All paint in light QPF both days as Texas falls under a more zonal flow pattern. Overcast with periods of light precip are plausible. Southern-based upper ridging expands north into the state early next week and eventually centers over the Gulf. This will set off another period of early June dry weather. 31 MARINE... Southeasterly to south winds should continue through Thursday morning at 10-17kt increasing slightly Sunday night and again Monday night. The SCEC up for the Gulf waters early this morning will be ending at 12z. With that increase in winds will probably see the SCEC return for Sunday night. Slight lessening in the Gulf waves tonight/Sunday with some improvement in beach runup and slight improvement in rip currents. Currently will maintain the Beach Hazards statement through Monday afternoon for these Gulf facing beaches. Tide levels should continue at 0.6 to 1.4 ft above normal. Cold front or cold pool storms should drift down into SETX Thursday and may even drift into the bays late Thursday night/Friday morning before the boundary lifts back north. This would likely become a focus for greater coverage with showers and thunderstorms. 45 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... College Station (CLL) 73 92 73 91 74 / 0 0 10 20 10 Houston (IAH) 72 90 74 91 76 / 0 0 10 20 10 Galveston (GLS) 77 86 78 87 78 / 0 10 10 20 10 && .HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX 500 AM CDT Sun May 26 2019 TXZ436>438-271000- Brazoria Islands-Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula- Matagorda Islands- 500 AM CDT Sun May 26 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of Southeast Texas.. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight There is a continued risk for moderate to strong rip currents along local area beaches. Always swim near a lifeguard and away from rocks, jetties and piers. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday Moderately strong rip currents will occur along local area beaches. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. GMZ330-335-350-355-370-375-271000- Coastal waters from Freeport to Matagorda Ship Channel TX out 20 NM-Coastal waters from High Island to Freeport TX out 20 NM- Galveston Bay-Matagorda Bay- Waters from Freeport to Matagorda Ship Channel TX from 20 to 60 NM-Waters from High Island to Freeport TX from 20 to 60 NM- 500 AM CDT Sun May 26 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of Southeast Texas.. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Moderate onshore winds and elevated seas will persist. Small Craft Exercise Cautions are possible early Memorial Day. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday Overnight Small Craft Advisories may be required as winds and seas restrengthen and lift, respectively. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
Sixteen year old male died while swimming off Matagorda Beach. He had rescued one friend, was trying to help another.
Seventeen year old male died while swimming off Surfside 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 Matagora | 2019-05-26 | 16 | Male | Unknown | Direct |
| Rip Current, Coastal Brazoria | 2019-05-26 | 17 | 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, May 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: 893049, 893044.