textproduct: Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1151 AM CST Sat Jan 24 2026

* First Arctic cold front of 2026 is currently pushing through Deep South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. No frozen precipitation is expected currently.

* The coldest air arrives tomorrow night into Tuesday morning, with freezing temperatures and extreme wind chills expected both Monday and Tuesday mornings.

* A Freeze Warning and Extreme Cold Warning have been issued for tomorrow night. Plan to protect people, pets, plants, and pipes and limit exposure to all for multiple days. Please refer to www.weather.gov/safety/cold for tips on how to protect yourself and others.

* A Small Craft Advisory is in effect due to the hazardous marine conditions with elevated winds and waves associated with the cold front. The Small Craft Advisory could need to be extended further, but more favorable conditions are expected to return to the marine zones by Tuesday.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 1151 AM CST Sat Jan 24 2026

The first Arctic cold front of the year is making its way through Deep South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. While there are some showers popping up over Kenedy and Willacy counties currently, after the front pushes through the region plenty of dry air will move in behind the front. This will effectively put an end to rain chances for most of the forecast period until around next weekend. While the overnight temperatures are expected be in the range of the mid 40s to the mid 30s for Deep South Texas, it is possible that some isolated places in the Northern Ranchlands could dip below freezing for a short period of time tonight. However, given the low confidence in the duration and coverage of the freezing temperatures no hazard was issued for tonight.

During the afternoon tomorrow, the skies are expected to clear up, and the winds are expected to be generally 15 mph. This will allow for plenty of radiational cooling to take place. With temperatures the overnight temperatures for tomorrow night expected to be in the range of low 30s low 20s. A Freeze Warning has been issued for all of Deep South Texas except for the islands. In addition, with the expected wind chills in the low teens to the mid 20s, all of Deep South Texas is in an Extreme Cold Warning. A "Hard Freeze" is expected for most of Deep South Texas as the overnight low temperatures will drop below 28 except for portions of southern Hidalgo and Cameron counties. People are highly encourage to follow cold weather safety precautions, which includes following the four Ps of protecting people, pets, pipes, and plants during this event. For those that would like a refresher on cold weather safety tips, please go to www.weather.gove/safety/winter to get some great safety tips.

Due to the surge of cold air, sea turtle stunning are likely to occur on Monday as the sea surface temperatures drop. There is potential for another night of freezing temperatures on Monday night into Tuesday as well. As many of the freezing temperatures and very cold wind chill values are currently expected to occur again. There will be further updates as this situation continues to unfold.

Once we get into the day time hours of Tuesday, southerly winds are expected to return allowing for a bit of a warm up period that will take our overnight low temperatures out of the freezing range for a couple of nights. Towards the end of the period models do show that another cold front could descend upon Deep South Texas and bring another round of cold temperatures. However given the time frame and general uncertainty at this point in the forecast, there is a lot of uncertainty on what kind of impacts that cold front will bring and if there will be another round of freezing temperatures.

Finally, a High Risk of Rip Currents and a High Surf Advisory are in effect at the local beaches. There is a possibility that these will need to be extended further due to the expected swell and wave action.

AVIATION

(18Z TAFS) Issued at 1151 AM CST Sat Jan 24 2026

While some VFR conditions remain possible for the next couple hours before a cold front moves through the region. The TAF cycle is likely to be dominated by mostly MVFR conditions as a cloud deck moves over the region. Then during the overnight hours, IFR or very close to IFR conditions could take over the region as the cloud deck lowers. Winds are generally expected to be out of the north for the TAF cycle as the cold front is currently pushing through the region now, with the wind gusts around 20 knots.

MARINE

Issued at 1151 AM CST Sat Jan 24 2026

Currently the BRO radar is showing that there are some showers over the Gulf waters. With a cold front pushing through the Lower Texas Coast currently, these showers should diminish afterwards as the dry air behind the front moves in. The front is expected to cause hazardous conditions as such a Small Craft Advisory is in effect for the Laguna Madre and the Gulf waters. There is a possibility that the Small Craft Advisory could need to be extended even further depending on how quickly the swells come down. Conditions should eventually become adverse as the winds and waves diminish with favorable conditions likely to return by Tuesday. Another cold front could impact the Lower Texas Coast next weekend and result in another round of hazardous conditions resulting in a potential Small Craft Advisory.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

BROWNSVILLE 44 57 30 47 / 30 10 0 10 HARLINGEN 41 57 27 48 / 40 0 0 0 MCALLEN 44 61 32 52 / 30 0 0 0 RIO GRANDE CITY 40 59 29 52 / 30 0 0 0 SOUTH PADRE ISLAND 48 55 37 50 / 50 10 10 20 BAYVIEW/PORT ISABEL 42 55 29 48 / 50 10 0 10

BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

TX...Freeze Warning from 9 PM Sunday to 10 AM CST Monday for TXZ248>255-351-353>355.

Extreme Cold Warning from 3 AM to 8 AM CST Monday for TXZ248>255- 351-353>355-451-454-455.

High Rip Current Risk from 6 PM CST this evening through Sunday afternoon for TXZ451-454-455.

High Surf Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM CST Sunday for TXZ451-454-455.

GM...Small Craft Advisory from 3 PM this afternoon to 6 PM CST Monday for GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175.