Galveston Beach Patrol rescued a swimmer from a rip current.
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The episode as NWS HGX wrote it up.
Galveston Beach Patrol rescued a swimmer from a rip current.
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 Mar 18, 2:11 PM CST, 34 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX
311 PM CDT Tue Mar 18 2025
...New SHORT TERM, LONG TERM, MARINE, FIRE WEATHER...
.SHORT TERM...
(This evening through Wednesday Night)
Issued at 311 PM CDT Tue Mar 18 2025
Surface low over Colorado will track eastward through the Plains
and into the Midwest tonight & Wednesday. Strong southerly flow
currently in place will continue into the overnight hours...then
diminish late tonight ahead of an approaching prefrontal
trof/dryline. Will maintain the wind advisory as/is for now
(expiring at 10pm), but there's a decent chance it may need to be
extended another 2-5 hours for portions of the area. Will let the
evening crew monitor trends and adjust as necessary.
As the prefrontal trof approaches the coast, some isolated,
insignificant showers may develop south of I-10 in the early
morning hours...ending by 9-10am as drier air filters in.
Attention then turns to elevated to critical fire wx conditions
(see discussion below) for the remainder of the day.
Cooler conditions can be expected Wednesday night with lows
dipping down into the 40s. 47
&&
.LONG TERM...
(Thursday through next Monday)
Issued at 311 PM CDT Tue Mar 18 2025
We begin the long term with high pressure dominating the surface
while being on the back side of a mid/upper trough. This will equate
to very nice conditions Thursday-Friday. Many locations could
struggle to reach 70 degrees Thursday afternoon with gradually
decreasing northerly winds. Efficient radiational cooling Thursday
night may allow some locations in our northern counties to drop into
the 30s, while most elsewhere drops in the 40s (50s near the coast).
Friday is expected to be warmer, with highs in the low/mid 70s. We
will be on the backside of the eastward departing high, allowing
winds to veer southeast on Friday.
When peering at the 500 MB pattern as per the global guidance, the
synoptic pattern over Texas briefly becomes zonal over the weekend
before a more amplified pattern takes shape early next week in the
form of W CONUS ridging and E CONUS troughing. The eastern CONUS
trough gets it start over the N central plains on Sunday, spawning a
surface low over the Dakotas and a long trailing cold front that
extends south to Texas. Onshore flow continues ahead of this front,
gradually building humidity while temperatures undergo a warming
trend. Inland areas are expected to be above 80 over the weekend.
For those wanting rain, there is hope that Sunday's front won't be a
dry one. First, there should be more moisture to work with. But
also, there may be more PVA thanks to vorticity maxima well south of
the primary storm system over the northern plains. We might even get
some added lift from vorticity stretching coming off the Sierra
Madre over northern Mexico. So the forecast actually has a decent
chance of rain Sunday afternoon and night. Current PoPs for
Sunday/Sunday night are ~30-50% (lower west, high east). These PoPs
may increase if recent data trends hold. If all goes according to
plan, we should find ourselves behind a cold front on Monday,
suggesting temperatures will be a little cooler to start out next
work week.
Self
&&
.AVIATION...
(18Z TAF Issuance)
Issued at 1207 PM CDT Tue Mar 18 2025
South winds 15-30kt will continue today and also into the
overnight hours. Scattered VFR cloud cover may transition into
some MVFR decks toward 6z...but there's a mixed bag of guidance
possibilities ranging from 1700-3500ft. Wind speeds should begin
to taper downward 8-10z as a prefrontal trof/dryline makes its way
toward the area. May see a few insignificant showers develop from
Hobby southward in the 11-15z time period. Winds will gradually
veer from the sw around sunrise, to w mid-morning then, nw by
early afternoon with clearing skies. 47
&&
.MARINE...
Issued at 311 PM CDT Tue Mar 18 2025
Strong onshore winds and building seas are expected into the
overnight hours tonight. Winds will likely ease by morning. However,
seas will likely take longer to tame. Small Craft Advisory level
seas could hold on strong into Wednesday afternoon, especially for
areas 20+ NM offshore. Winds on Wednesday will become more westerly
before shifting northwest then north overnight. These overnight
winds are expected to increase, likely warranting more advisories.
Seas will increase again as well. Strong northerly winds interacting
with the continued south to southeast swell may also confuse seas,
making waves more choppy over the Gulf. Winds and seas decrease on
Thursday, but could remain hazardous through much of the day. Winds
veer onshore by Friday and could become gusty. The early outlook for
the weekend features light to moderate onshore flow and a chance of
rain by Sunday.
Also worth mentioning that rough surf and rip currents will result
in hazardous swimming conditions for beachgoers through the end of
the week.
Self
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 311 PM CDT Tue Mar 18 2025
Elevated to critical fire wx conditions are anticipated Wednesday
afternoon and evening for portions of the region. Humidities are
forecast to lower into the teens during that time period as drier
air pushes into the area. The primary question at this point is
whether or not wnw winds will increase enough to warrant a Red
Flag Warning. It'll be close...moreso in the late afternoon across
the Brazos Valley and western parts of the CWA. Will maintain the
current Fire Weather Watch configuration for now and let the
midshift fine tune any potential upgrades to RFW's. Regardless,
would use extreme caution with outdoor burning and maybe delay
until another day if at all possible. 47
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
College Station (CLL) 63 77 43 69 / 10 0 0 0
Houston (IAH) 66 83 47 69 / 20 10 0 0
Galveston (GLS) 67 81 52 67 / 20 30 0 0
&&
.HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...Wind Advisory until 10 PM CDT this evening for TXZ163-164-
176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-300-313-335>338-
436>439.
Fire Weather Watch from Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday
evening for TXZ176-195>198-210>212-226-227-235-236-335.
High Rip Current Risk through Wednesday morning for TXZ436>439.
GM...Small Craft Advisory until 7 AM CDT Wednesday for GMZ330-335-350-
355-370-375.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
Galveston Beach Patrol rescued 1 female from a rip current near the east side of tower 39.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, March 2025
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: 1268544.