After two days of frigid temperatures, the Rio Grande Valley will experience slightly warmer temperatures this weekend.
The highs on Saturday will be around 56 degrees and the highs on Sunday will be in the 60s. This is about 30 degrees plus warmer than the temperatures on Thursday and Friday, which were in the 40s and 30s, respectively.
Although rain is in the forecast for the weekend, the chances are about 30% for both Saturday and Sunday for the majority of the Valley.
The lows on Saturday and Sunday nights will be in the low 50s.
Sea Turtle Inc. reported on Friday that it had recovered a few cold stunned turtles and anticipated recovering more. The organization urged residents to be on the lookout for the turtles and if they find a sea turtle floating or washed ashore on South Padre Island or Boca Chica Beach, to call its emergency number at (956) 243-4361.
An arctic cold front that pushed through the Valley on Thursday brought some of the coldest temperatures to the area so far this winter. Wind chills in the 20s occurred Thursday night and early Friday into Friday afternoon.
The colder conditions prompted school delays, the preparations of roadways for possible ice and the opening of warming centers for those in need of a place to get warm.
Barry Goldsmith, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley, said Friday morning’s “feels like” temperature was the coldest “feeling” morning since February 2021 when combining temperatures with the wind chill.
The “feels like” temperatures at 8:30 a.m. Friday were 26 in Brownsville, 24 in Harlingen and 26 in McAllen, while the actual temperature was 34 degrees in Brownsville, Harlingen and McAllen.
There were also scattered reports of light icing on roofs, trees, grass and vehicle roofs in Los Fresnos and north of Harlingen.
The cold front also brought much needed rain in the Valley with Brownsville receiving .61 inches, Harlingen 1.09 inches, .79 inches in Bayview, .56 inches in Weslaco and .64 inches in McAllen.
Another cold front will makes its way to the Valley on Wednesday but this one will not bring as much cold air as the one on Thursday. The highs on Wednesday will be in the 60s and the lows will be in the mid to upper 40s.
