Very dry conditions continued through the first half of April and allowed Exceptional (D4) drought to enter Zapata. Extreme (D3) and Severe (D2) drought continued their eastward march towards the coast.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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.
Very dry conditions continued through the first half of April and allowed Exceptional (D4) drought to enter Zapata. Extreme (D3) and Severe (D2) drought continued their eastward march towards the coast. Temporary relief from the drought would arrive in the form of thunderstorm clusters late on the 25th and early on the 26th, improving drought conditions in all areas, and ending severe drought in ranch areas along and east of Interstate Highway 69C.
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 Apr 11, 5:11 PM CST, 6 hours 49 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Brownsville TX
611 PM CDT Mon Apr 11 2022
.DISCUSSION...Updated for latest aviation discussion below.
&&
.AVIATION...Satellite images and surface observations indicate low
to mid level clouds across the coastal sections of deep south
Texas early this evening with mid to high level clouds across the
rest of the CWA. Ceilings were near 1600ft at KPIL to near 3600ft
at KMFE. Expect MVFR ceilings to develop across the Rio Grande
Valley tonight into early Tuesday morning as low to mid level
moisture increases across deep south Texas tonight allowing low
clouds to develop. In addition...haze will reduce visibilities
across the RGV Tuesday morning.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 439 PM CDT Mon Apr 11 2022/
SHORT TERM (Now through Tuesday night): Abnormally warm
temperatures and breezy southerly winds, especially along the
coast, will continue to be the main storyline for the Rio Grande
Valley and Deep South Texas through the short-term period.
Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible
beginning overnight tonight and through the daytime on Tuesday as
a couple of weak upper- level disturbances pass overhead, though
most locations should remain dry.
Mid/upper-level southwesterly flow will persist over South Texas as
a large scale trough begins to move over the Great Basin/Northwest
Mexico region tonight and into Tuesday. A couple of relatively weak-
modest shortwave troughs, embedded in the southwest flow, will move
over central/southern Texas: one early Tuesday morning and another
Tuesday afternoon. Both of these shortwaves will bring a chance of
isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms for the area, with
better rain chances occurring across the upper RGV and Northern
Ranchlands. A surface dryline will form just west of the BRO CWA and
will sharpen during the daytime on Tuesday, possibly promoting
convective development during the afternoon, especially north of the
area. Ingredients over the region will be in place for a couple of
strong to severe thunderstorms to form the mid-late afternoon/early
evening hours. However, the one limiting factor for storm develop
during this timeframe will be a strong temperature inversion just
above the surface, inhibiting storm development. If this capping
inversion can break, an isolated strong/severe thunderstorm or two
cannot be ruled out. For now, was only confidence enough to keep
PoPs between 20-30% across the area for Tuesday as better support
for storms stay to the north; highest chances for our area will
remain across the four northern counties (Zapata, Jim Hogg, Brooks,
and Kenedy Counties).
As for winds and temperatures, southerly winds will decrease
tonight, but are expected to increase again and become gusty mid-late
morning on Tuesday. Wind speeds will come close to Wind Advisory
levels across coastal counties, but should stay below criteria with
gusts between 30 and 35 mph in the afternoon. Temperatures will
remain about 3 to 5 degrees above seasonal average on Tuesday, with
highs generally in the lower 90s near the coast to lower 100s out
west. Lows will remain warm and muggy, in the upper 60s and lower
70s tonight and Tuesday night.
Hazy conditions will continue to plague the district as agricultural
fires continue to burn across southern and central Mexico and breezy
south to southeast winds persist, pushing the smoke and haze
overhead. Haze will be the worst during the overnight and morning
hours, but will still be visible through much of the day.
LONG TERM (Wednesday through Monday): A 500mb trough works from
the Northern Plains into the Great Lakes, turning mid level flow
aloft from southwesterly Wednesday to more zonal by Friday. A mid
level ridge builds over the weekend and holds into next week. At
the surface, a weak frontal boundary works into the RGV on
Wednesday afternoon, stalling as it encounters the seabreeze along
the coastal counties. Compressional heating ahead of the front
and a period of SSW winds should bring a heat spike to the RGV,
once again threatening record highs with triple digit heat.
Temperatures remain above normal through the weekend with seasonal
lows. Expect breezy afternoons to continue as well, especially
Saturday through Monday.
Most model guidance remains dry through the period, however,
there are some hints at afternoon convection firing up across the
Sierra Madre and making an evening run for the borders of Zapata
and Starr counties beginning Thursday night and continuing each
night through the weekend. This is a somewhat typical April and
May convective pattern for the brush country and upper valley,
although, there is limited moisture and there will likely be a
strong cap. The frontal boundary heading north as a warm front
on Friday may bring the best chance of rain, albeit still
isolated.
Relative humidity values tank into the single digits and teens again
on Wednesday along and west of I69C/US281 with increased wind
bringing elevated to critical fire weather conditions by the
afternoon. With above average confidence, we'll be issuing a Fire
Weather Watch.
MARINE (Now through Tuesday night): A strong pressure gradient
across the western Gulf of Mexico will maintain strong southerly
winds and high seas through Tuesday night. As such, Small Craft
Advisory conditions are currently ongoing on both the Laguna Madre
and Gulf Waters. Winds may briefly decrease on the bay tonight, but
are expected to pick right back up Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Meanwhile on the Gulf, seas will remain fairly rough, with wave
heights ranging between 6 and 8 feet through much of the period.
Wednesday through Monday: Adverse marine conditions are expected
to generally continue into Thursday, with Small Craft Advisories
likely. Some improvement is expected over the weekend, with breezy
afternoons likely bringing brief SCEC to borderline SCA conditions
across the bay and nearshore waters Saturday through Monday.
Fire Weather (Now through Tuesday night): Breezy southerly winds
and relatively low relative humidity values will support elevated
fire weather conditions through the remainder of the afternoon for
inland sections of Deep South Texas. Breezy southeast winds are
expected again on Tuesday, especially strong near the coast, with
elevated fire weather conditions likely to continue. A Fire Danger
Statement is likely to be needed for portions of Deep South
Texas for Tuesday.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
BAYVIEW/PORT ISABEL 70 88 70 89 / 10 20 10 0
BROWNSVILLE 73 89 73 97 / 10 20 10 0
HARLINGEN 71 92 71 100 / 10 20 10 0
MCALLEN 72 94 72 103 / 10 20 10 0
RIO GRANDE CITY 71 101 70 103 / 20 20 10 0
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND 70 77 71 80 / 0 20 10 0
&&
.BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...High Rip Current Risk through Tuesday evening for TXZ451-454-455.
Fire Weather Watch from Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday
evening for TXZ248>250-252-253-353.
GM...Small Craft Advisory until 7 AM CDT Tuesday for GMZ130-132-135.
Small Craft Advisory until 7 AM CDT Wednesday for GMZ150-155-170-
175.
&&
This product is also available on the web at:
https://weather.gov/rgv
61-Castillo/80-MBHazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Brownsville TX 951 PM CDT Mon Apr 11 2022 TXZ248>255-351-353>355-451-454-455-130300- Zapata-Jim Hogg-Brooks-Inland Kenedy-Starr-Southern Hidalgo- Inland Willacy-Inland Cameron-Coastal Kenedy-Northern Hidalgo- Coastal Willacy-Coastal Cameron-Kenedy Island-Willacy Island- Cameron Island- 951 PM CDT Mon Apr 11 2022 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Deep South Texas. .DAY ONE...Tonight A high risk of rip currents will persist tonight along area beaches. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms will be possible after midnight tonight across Deep South Texas with the best chances across the northern ranchlands. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Isolated to scattered thunderstorms will be possible on Tuesday across Deep South Texas. Isolated thunderstorms will also be possible on Friday. A high risk of rip currents will persist into Tuesday along area beaches. After Tuesday, a moderate to high risk of rip currents can be expected along area beaches into the weekend. Elevated to critical fore weather conditions will be possible for portions of the area through Thursday. A Fire Weather Watch has been issued for Brooks, Jim Hogg, Hidalgo, Starr, and Zapata counties for Wednesday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-130300- 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- Gulf waters from Port Mansfield to the Rio Grande out 20 nm- Gulf waters from Baffin Bay to Port Mansfield out 20 nm- Gulf waters from Port Mansfield to the Rio Grande extending from 20 to 60 nm- Gulf waters from Baffin Bay to Port Mansfield extending from 20 to 60 nm- 951 PM CDT Mon Apr 11 2022 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of The Gulf of Mexico and The Laguna Madre. .DAY ONE...Tonight Small craft advisory conditions will persist tonight for the offshore coastal waters. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Small craft advisory conditions will persist for the nearshore and offshore waters through Wednesday morning. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms will be possible on Tuesday and Friday across the waters. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. MB/MC
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Very dry conditions and several dry cold fronts allowed Exceptional (D4) Drought to enter the western half of Zapata County.
Severe (D2) Drought entered Inland Kenedy County due to very dry conditions and several dry cold fronts to end March and begin April. Thunderstorm clusters late on the 25th and early on the 26th dropped between 1 and 3 inches in western Kenedy, which improved conditions back to moderate levels on the 26th.
Very dry conditions, hot temperatures, and several dry cold fronts allowed Severe (D2) Drought to enter much of Northern Hidalgo County. Thunderstorm clusters late on the 25th and early on the 26th dropped between 1 and 3 inches of rain, and helped improve conditions back to moderate (D1) on the 26th.
Very dry conditions, hot temperatures, and several dry cold fronts to end March and begin April allowed Severe (D2) Drought conditions to expand into western Hidalgo County, west of Mission, TX, until late on April 25th and early on April 26th, when thunderstorm clusters dropped generally 1 to 2 inches of rain and improved conditions back to Moderate (D1).
Extreme (D3) expanded eastward into Brooks County due to very dry conditions, hot temperatures, and several dry cold fronts to end March and begin April. The extreme drought covered the northwest portion of the county from approx. 3 miles west of Falfurrias to approx. 8 miles north of the Starr/Brooks/Jim Hogg County line. Severe (D2) drought covered the rest of the county.
Heavy rainfall from thunderstorm clusters late on April 25th and early on April 26th, generally between 2 and 5 inches, would improve conditions across the county on April 26th.
Very dry conditions, hot temperatures, and several dry cold fronts into mid April allowed Extreme (D3) Drought to expand into western Starr County. The extreme drought extended from approx. 7 miles of FM 1017 to approx. 4 miles east of Roma, TX on April 12th.
Torrential rains from thunderstorm clusters late on April 25th and early on April 26th, with general totals of 2 to more than 4 inches, would improve drought conditions on April 26th.
Extreme (D3) Drought continued to expand across most of Jim Hogg County during the middle of April, covering all but the far southeastern part of the county near the border of Starr and Brooks Counties. Very dry conditions, hot temperatures, and several dry cold fronts to end March and begin April led to the expansion.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2022
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: 1007806, 1007807, 1007808, 1007809, 1007810, 1007811, 1007814.