A swimmer was caught within a rip current and drown.
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 HGX wrote it up.
A swimmer was caught within a rip current and drown.
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 16, 11:43 AM CST, 2 hours 47 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX
1243 PM CDT Sat May 16 2020
.AVIATION...
Ceilings generally in the 1500-2500ft range should gradually lift
this afternoon. UTS, which is closer to the sfc low/mcv and
associated precip, will probably be the slowest to do so. Cannot
totally rule out some late afternoon shra/tstm redevelopment
further south, but overall chances of an individual terminal being
impacted appears to be on the low side. Tonight & Sunday, though
VFR conditions *should* mostly prevail, we'll be keeping an eye on
3 things. First, Texas Tech WRF should some isolated precip
focusing on a northerly wind shift between CXO-GLS tonight in the
2-9z range. Second, is for patchy fog development with lighter
winds and wet grounds in place. Finally, will be monitoring the
possibility of some isolated seabreeze activity south of I-10
during the day Sunday. 47
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1112 AM CDT Sat May 16 2020/
Surface low/mcv situated near the Brazos Valley should be edging
to the northeast today. Rain chances will remain higher in the vicinity
of this feature. Though latest hires guidance has backed off POPs
further south from earlier runs, aircraft soundings still show some
lingering moisture whereas we could still get some sct banding
activity with daytime heating. Fcst update has been sent. 47
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
College Station (CLL) 78 66 85 65 85 / 70 20 30 10 0
Houston (IAH) 80 70 87 69 88 / 30 40 40 20 0
Galveston (GLS) 78 74 82 73 82 / 30 50 40 20 0
&&
.HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...High Rip Current Risk until 10 PM CDT this evening for the
following zones: Brazoria Islands...Galveston Island and
Bolivar Peninsula...Matagorda Islands.
GM...SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION until 7 PM CDT this evening
for the following zones: 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.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1032 AM CDT SAT MAY 16 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0259 AM TSTM WND DMG 4 ENE MISSOURI CITY 29.60N 95.48W
05/16/2020 FORT BEND TX BROADCAST MEDIA
NUMEROUS TREES AND LARGE LIMBS DOWN.
&&
DRThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A young male drowned in the Gulf nearshore waters when he became caught up in a rip current.
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 Brazoria | 2020-05-16 | 19 | Male | In Water | Direct |
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, May 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: 881749.