Persistent warm to hot (much above average) temperatures along with limited rainfall and periodic low afternoon humidity allowed for a pocket of Exceptional Drought (the worst value) to expand into the northwest corner of Starr County on March 24th, and continue through the end of the month. A slight improvement occurred in extreme eastern Starr County following a single evening of very heavy…
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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.
Persistent warm to hot (much above average) temperatures along with limited rainfall and periodic low afternoon humidity allowed for a pocket of Exceptional Drought (the worst value) to expand into the northwest corner of Starr County on March 24th, and continue through the end of the month. A slight improvement occurred in extreme eastern Starr County following a single evening of very heavy rain that extended into far western Hidalgo County.
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 23, 5:36 PM CST, 6 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Brownsville TX 636 PM CDT Mon Mar 23 2020 .DISCUSSION...Updated for latest aviation discussion below. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions prevail early this evening with wind gusts to 25 knots. MVFR cigs may return and impact KBRO and KHRL as marine layer develops along an inversion at around 2K feet. This inversion may lower overnight with some cigs approaching IFR for a few hours around sunrise. Any low cigs in the morning will lift and break quickly mid morning with VFR returning. stronger S-SE winds develops Tuesday afternoon with gusts up to 25 knots. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 244 PM CDT Mon Mar 23 2020/ SHORT TERM (Now through Tuesday Night): High pressure remains in control across Deep South Texas through the short term, as low pressure develops across the Plains, continuing moderate southerly flow along the lower Texas coast through tonight. Surface analysis continues to show a boundary edging into the western counties Tuesday afternoon, potentially the dryline out ahead of a weak and stalling cold front. Essentially, this boundary helps dampen afternoon wind speeds on Tuesday and potentially keeps the west below triple digit heat. Eastern counties warm up quicker than today, and reach highs into the low to mid 90s. The boundary retreats Tuesday night, leaving light southerly winds and abundant low level moisture, potentially leading to fog development again across the eastern and coastal counties. LONG TERM (Wednesday through Monday): A relatively flat but extensive mid level ridge will persist over the area through around mid week. The mid level flow will ride west to east across a ridge centered over the west Gulf of Mexico. By Thursday and Friday a positively tilted short wave trough will dig out of the Pacific Northwest, deforming the pattern a bit. The Gulf ridge will shift east and the overhead pattern will back to southwest as the short wave moves out into the High Plains on Friday and then ejects east and north toward the Great Lakes on Saturday and Sunday. Eventually, however, the door will open for a cold front to push out of the Four Corners and into West Texas. The original head of the front will race northeast, leaving the trailing end to push into South Texas on Saturday as the shortwave finally ejects away. Timing for the front is Saturday during the day with the GFS and ECMWF looking to be in a little bit better agreement today. Used a model blend for elements through the week with at least average confidence. Late week energy doesn't look overly impressive, with just a few showers developing along the front Saturday, followed by a few hours of breezy north winds. The front will push offshore as high pressure overspreads the CWA on Sunday, with the front pushing back over the CWA on Monday as winds swing around to east, setting up weak overrrunning, cloudy skies and a slight chance of rain. The weather will be warm all week, with temperatures well above normal. Interior sections will generally be in the 90s during the afternoons Wednesday through Friday, with western sections near the century mark at times, and with heat index values getting above 100. A slight cool down will occur Saturday, followed by a little more cooling Sunday and Monday, to near or slightly below normal. MARINE: Now through Tuesday Night: Low pressure developing across the Plains interacts with high pressure across the eastern Gulf of Mexico to strengthen the pressure gradient this afternoon through tonight. Moderate SSE flow is expected to continue tonight, gradually building seas into Tuesday. Small Craft Caution conditions are occurring across the bay this afternoon and may expand across all coastal waters tonight through early Tuesday. A Small Craft Advisory may be needed across offshore Gulf of Mexico waters Tuesday morning into Tuesday afternoon. A weak boundary works into the western counties of Deep South Texas on Tuesday, relaxing the pressure gradient and allowing wind speeds to diminish and seas to subside Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday night. Abundant low level moisture combined with light southerly flow may help fog development along the coast late Tuesday night. Wednesday through Saturday night...High pressure over the Gulf of Mexico will dominate through the week, supporting moderate to sometimes fresh southeast to south winds and moderate to sometimes slightly higher seas. Small craft should exercise caution conditions will develop from time to time across all areas, but especially the Laguna Madre, and offshore seas could occasionally build high enough to support brief small craft advisory conditions, mainly Friday through Saturday. A cold front is due on Saturday which will shift winds to northeast late in the day and Saturday night. FIRE WEATHER: Though some areas recently received a little rain, most areas have received well below normal amounts for March, and as drought conditions continue, the weather will remain favorable for enhanced wildfire growth and spread. Heading into Thursday and Friday, breezier southeast winds will develop across eastern and coastal sections, with forecast relative humidity values in the 20s and 30s for interior sections west of I-69E. A number of county level burn bans are in effect as reported via the Texas A&M Forest Service. && .BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. GM...None. && This product is also available on the web at: HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RGV 59/99
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Brownsville TX 430 PM CDT Mon Mar 23 2020 TXZ248>257-351-353-242130- Zapata-Jim Hogg-Brooks-Inland Kenedy-Starr-Southern Hidalgo- Inland Willacy-Inland Cameron-Coastal Willacy-Coastal Cameron- Coastal Kenedy-Northern Hidalgo- 430 PM CDT Mon Mar 23 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Deep South Texas. .DAY ONE...Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday An elevated risk of rip currents is possible at the local beaches this week and into the weekend. A Wind Advisory may be needed for the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Kenedy County Thursday. Elevated fire weather danger will be possible on Thursday, especially along and west of U.S. 281/I-69C. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-242130- 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- 430 PM CDT Mon Mar 23 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of The Gulf of Mexico and The Laguna Madre. .DAY ONE...Tonight Small Craft Advisories may be needed for portions of the Lower Texas Coastal waters tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Small Craft Advisories are possible for portions of the Lower Texas Coastal waters Tuesday and again Thursday and Sunday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Exceptional (D4) Drought developed in the northwest corner of the county on March 24th, and continued through the end of the month. The remainder of the county remained at Extreme (D3) levels, with a sliver of Severe (D2) along the Hidalgo County line north of US 83.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, March 2020
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: 883560.