Texas, 2020

High Surf in Texas, October 9, 2020

October 9, 2020 · NWS CRP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Large swells associated with Hurricane Delta over the northwest Gulf of Mexico reached the Middle Texas coast. A family was standing at the end of the Packery Channel North Jetty when a wave washed them over the railing and into the waters.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
6
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS CRP wrote it up.

Large swells associated with Hurricane Delta over the northwest Gulf of Mexico reached the Middle Texas coast. A family was standing at the end of the Packery Channel North Jetty when a wave washed them over the railing and into the waters. Seas were rough, with wave heights of 6 to 8 feet. The family and the lifeguards involved in the rescue were injured as they were washed into the jetty. A 60 year old man from Lubbock died on the way to the hospital. The other family members and multiple lifeguards suffered injuries, with one lifeguard transported by ambulance to the hospital.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Nueces County Islands

When
October 9, 11:50 AM CST
Where
Nueces County Islands forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
6 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
27.735, -97.516 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A family was standing at the end of the Packery Channel North Jetty when a wave washed them over the railing and into the waters. The family and the lifeguards involved in the rescue were injured as they were washed into the jetty. A 60-year-old male had water in his lungs and had suffered trauma from striking the jetties. The man from Lubbock died on the way to the hospital. The other family members and multiple lifeguards suffered injuries, with one female lifeguard transported by ambulance to the hospital.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
High Surf, Nueces County Islands2020-10-0960MaleIn WaterDirect

What these are

High Surf
Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, October 2020

Sources

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: 924576.