Tropical Storm Harold was a moderate tropical storm that made landfall in

South Texas South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of th ...

in August 2023. The eighth named storm of the

2023 Atlantic hurricane season The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season was the fourth-most active Atlantic hurricane season on record with 20 tropical cyclone naming, named storms forming, tied with 1933 Atlantic hurricane season, 1933. Among them, 7 became hurricanes, ...

, Harold developed from a

tropical wave A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...

that entered the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

on August 20, after passing through the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

and

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

. The system steadily organized over the following days, over record-warm

sea-surface temperatures Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea surface. Sea surf ...

in the Gulf, as it progressed westward. Although the disturbance had not become organized enough to become a

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

yet, due to the threat it posed to southern Texas, the

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–based

National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the IERS Reference Meridian, Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian ...

(NHC) initiated advisories on the system as

Potential Tropical Cyclone The following is a glossary of tropical cyclone terms. A ;Advisory: Official information issued by tropical cyclone warning centers describing all tropical cyclone watches and warnings in effect along with details concerning tropical cyclone loc ...

Nine on August 21. The disturbance organized into a tropical depression six hours later, before strengthening into a tropical storm the following morning and receiving the name ''Harold''. Harold continued to strengthen as it moved quickly westward, and the

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

made

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

Padre Island Padre Island is the largest of the Texas barrier islands and the world's longest barrier island. The island is located along Texas's southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is noted for its white sandy beaches. Meaning ''father'' in Spanish, ...

, Texas, around 15:00

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

on August 22, as a tropical storm. Harold quickly weakened as it moved inland over southern Texas and dissipated on August 23, though its remnant mid-level circulation and associated moisture affected the central United States for several more days. Harold led to severe wind gusts and significant rainfall as it struck Texas. Corpus Christi reported of rain from Harold, including a daily record of on August 22; similarly significant rainfall was reported in northern Mexico, peaking at in

Piedras Negras Piedras Negras may refer to: * Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a city in the state of Coahuila, Mexico ** Piedras Negras Municipality, a municipality in Mexico, with the center in the eponymous city * Piedras Negras (Maya site) Piedras Negras is the ...

in the state of

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

. A modest storm surge of up to was reported at San Luis Pass. Wind gusts of up to affected the area, and over 35,000 electricity customers lost power during the storm. One school district in Texas had to shut down for several days following the storm due to the damage Harold inflicted on its classrooms. The remnants of Harold affected the southwestern United States for several days, producing flash flooding that killed one person and left another missing in

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. Overall damage from Harold was minor in most areas, however, totaling to around $505,000 (2023

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

Meteorological history

Harold developed from a

that left the west coast of

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sometime between August 8–10. The wave crossed the tropical

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

over the next week.

Convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...

increased over the northern part of the wave on August 17, to the north of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. The disturbance progressed westward, passing through

The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

and southern Florida over the following days, entering the

the morning of August 20. The developing system became better organized as it crossed the Gulf, but lacked sufficient organization to be deemed a

by late on August 21. Despite this, due to the

's (NHC) expectation that the system would strengthen into a tropical storm and strike the Texas coast the next day, advisories were initiated on the system as Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine at 15:00 UTC on August 21. About three hours after being designated a potential tropical cyclone, the system acquired a closed, well-defined circulation; it thus met the criteria of a

and became the ninth tropical depression of the

at 18:00 UTC that day. Harold 2023 wind history

The newly formed cyclone continued to become better organized as it moved more quickly westward toward the Texas coast, steered by a mid-level

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

to its north. The depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Harold at 6:00 UTC on August 22, as the broad cyclone's

rain band A rainband is a cloud and precipitation structure associated with an area of rainfall which is significantly elongated. Rainbands in tropical cyclones can be either stratiform or convective and are curved in shape. They consist of showers and t ...

s began to move onshore. Shortly before landfall, Harold's center reformed to the north of its previous position, and the storm strengthened further to achieve its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013.2 ...

of 996 millibars. Harold made landfall on

, Texas by 15:00 UTC at peak intensity. Harold weakened quickly as it moved inland, dropping back to tropical depression status about six hours later, at which time the

Weather Prediction Center The Weather Prediction Center (WPC), located in College Park, Maryland, is one of nine service centers under the umbrella of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), a part of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is ...

(WPC) took over responsibility for issuing advisories on the storm from the NHC. Late that day, Tropical Depression Harold crossed into northern Mexico and continued to steadily weaken. The WPC issued its final advisory on Harold at 15:00 UTC on August 23 as its surface low became increasingly ill-defined and dissipated far inland over Mexico. The depression finally degenerated to a remnant low over the Big Bend region of Texas that day, dissipating shortly thereafter.

Preparations and impact

United States

Texas

On August 21, upon Harold's precursor's designation as a potential tropical cyclone, a tropical storm warning was issued for much of the coast of southern Texas, from the mouth of the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

river, at the Texas-Mexico border, up to Port O'Connor, placing 1.3 million residents under the tropical storm warning, with rainfall anticipated to reach up to . A Tropical Storm Watch was issued from north of Port O’Connor to Sargent. The Texas Division of Emergency Management, the state government's emergency management division, was deployed ahead of Harold's expected landfall, and the Texas State Emergency Operations Center was activated to Level II that day, indicating "escalated response conditions". Several school districts in multiple communities across the southern Texas coast were closed in advance of the storm for several days. Residents across southern Texas were advised to prepare for the potential for flash flooding and tornadoes. Harold struck South Texas with strong winds and heavy rain as it moved across the region. A modest storm surge of 1.6– was reported in areas including Port Lavaca,

Galveston Bay Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...

, and San Luis Pass. Sustained winds of , with stronger gusts of , were reported at

Corpus Christi International Airport Corpus Christi International Airport is west of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas. It opened in 1960, replacing Cliff Maus airport at , where the Lozano Golf Center is now located. The airport's six-gate Hayden Wilson Head Termina ...

, as well as of rainfall. A peak wind gust of was measured at Loyola Beach, while rainfall peaked at in Orange Grove. Harold's rains were somewhat beneficial in certain areas of Southern Texas, which was in the midst of a moderate to severe drought before Harold's landfall. Harold dropped a total of of rain in a 24-hour period in Corpus Christi, setting a new daily rainfall record for the city, surpassing the previous record set by the much more powerful

Hurricane Bret Hurricane Bret was the first of five Category 4 hurricanes that developed during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season and the first tropical cyclone since Hurricane Jerry in 1989 to make landfall in Texas at hurricane intensity. Forming fr ...

in 1999. Further, Corpus Christi was originally on track for one of its driest summers on record before Harold's landfall, but following the storm the city's summer rainfall rose above the seasonal average. Total rainfall from Harold reached in Corpus Christi and in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

. Wind gusts of affected Corpus Christi as well. Two

EF0 The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated EF-Scale) is a scale that rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage a tornado causes. It is used in the United States and France, among other countries. The EF scale is also unofficially ...

tornadoes were recorded in the counties of

Live Oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...

and Jim Wells, however they caused minimal damage. Over 35,000 homes and business lost power due to Harold. The London Independent School District was shut down for several days due to damage sustained during the storm. Floods in Robstown inundated roads; firefighters in Robstown monitored flood-prone streets. Gusty winds caused minor damage across Corpus Christi, mostly limited to downed trees, fences, and light poles. Heavy rain caved in ceiling tiles inside a building owned by the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

in Corpus Christi, which had already been damaged by

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. Storm surge raised water levels up to 2.6 ft (0.8 m) in

Corpus Christi Bay Corpus Christi Bay is a scenic semi-tropical bay on the Texas coast found in San Patricio and Nueces counties, next to the major city of Corpus Christi. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Mustang Island, and is fed by the Nueces River ...

. Storm surge flooding inundated the parking lot of the Art Museum of South Texas, as well as closing multiple roads and turnaround of U.S. Route 181 in the North Beach neighborhood. Storm surge also scattered debris and caused beach erosion on

. In Kleberg County, tropical storm-force winds downed trees and brought beneficial rainfall to parts of the area. Street flooding also occurred in Kingsville. First responders performed a water rescue near

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

, after a vehicle attempted to traverse a flooded low-level crossing. Several roads were closed due to flooding in Laredo, including an intersection of

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

. Across Laredo, 15 high water rescues were performed. Overall, damage across Texas totaled $381,000.

Elsewhere

As Harold progressed inland, flash flood watches were issued in parts of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. The remnants of Tropical Storm Harold brought rainfall to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, with of rain falling in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. The highest rainfall total in the state was in Nathrop. The storm brought the first Atlantic tropical rain in the state in 15 years. The heavy rainfall in Colorado resulted in flash floods and mudflows. The collection of water on the burn scar of the

Grizzly Creek Fire The Grizzly Creek Fire (also called the 120 Fire) was a wildfire that burned 32,631 acres (13,205 ha) in Glenwood Canyon in the state of Colorado in the United States. The fire first ignited on August 10, 2020 and was declared 100% contained on ...

resulted in a mudslide that closed a portion of

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

near

Glenwood Springs Glenwood Springs is a home rule municipality and the county seat of Garfield County, Colorado, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, the city has a population of 9,963. It is located at the confluence of the Roaring Fork ...

. Minor flooding occurred in Cortez, which entered a few basements. Flooding also submerged roads and entered basements in De Beque,

Marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, and

Rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

. Damage across Colorado reached $24,000. Heavy rainfall occurred in

, reaching a peak amount of 3.3 in (84.6 mm) in

La Luz La Luz is a census-designated place (CDP) in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,615 at the 2000 census. It is located immediately north of Alamogordo and lies in the eastern edge of the Tularosa Basin and on the ...

. Multiple locations across the Sacramento Mountains recorded rainfall totals in excess of 2 in (51 mm), as well. A rockslide blocked part of

U.S. Route 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a route extending from the White Sands of New ...

near Mountain Park. Harold 2023 rainfall map

Moisture from Harold, combined with the remnants of Eastern Pacific

Hurricane Hilary Hurricane Hilary was a large and powerful Pacific hurricane in August 2023 that brought torrential rainfall and gusty winds to the Pacific Coast of Mexico, the Baja California Peninsula, and the Southwestern United States, resulting in wid ...

, also led to rainfall across parts of

and

. The

Paria River The Paria River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in southern Utah and northern Arizona in the United States. It drains a rugged and arid region northwest of the Colorado, flowing through roadless slot canyons along par ...

rose up to 6.6 ft (2 m) above normal late on August 24 in

Marble Canyon Marble Canyon is the section of the Colorado River canyon in northern Arizona from Lee's Ferry to the confluence with the Little Colorado River, which marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon. Lee's Ferry is a common launching point for riv ...

. The scar from the Schultz Fire and Pipeline Fire resulted in a debris flow that blocked a road near

Sunset Crater Sunset Crater is a cinder cone located north of Flagstaff in the U.S. state of Arizona. The crater is within the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Sunset Crater is the youngest in a string of volcanoes (the San Francisco volcanic fie ...

. Thunderstorms over the

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the Southern Nevada, southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan St ...

resulted in numerous severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings being issued. Only around half an inch (13 mm) of precipitation was observed in most of Las Vegas, although a pump station along

Desert Inn Road Desert Inn Road, also known as Wilbur Clark D. I. Road, is a major west-east road in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, Nevada, United States, part of the Las Vegas grid road system. It is named after the former Desert Inn hotel and casino. De ...

near the Las Vegas Strip recorded a maximum precipitation amount of 1.34 in (34 mm) within an hour. Despite the overall low amount of rainfall the desert environment of the region led to these rainfall totals having a more significant effect. Flash flooding inundated parts of the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

. One person drowned in a

wash Wash or the Wash may refer to: Industry and sanitation * WASH or WaSH, "water, sanitation and hygiene", three related public health issues * Wash (distilling), the liquid produced by the fermentation step in the production of distilled beverages ...

amidst the intense flooding, while another was reported missing. The

Harrah's Las Vegas Harrah's Las Vegas is a hotel and casino centrally located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. The property originally opened as a joint venture with ...

casino suffered damage to ceiling tiles and water leaks. Losses in Nevada reached $100,000. Heavy rainfall was observed in

, with rainfall rates in excess of 0.4 in (10 mm) at Mary Jane Canyon in Grand County in 30 minutes. The resultant downstream flooding swept away a woman and her dog, however, both were rescued without injuries. Further east in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, the remnants of Harold produced heavy rainfall in Cheyenne County, which flooded roads in Sidney, stranding a vehicle in high water.

Mexico

Moderate rainfall and gusty winds affected portions of the Mexican states of

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

, Chihuahua,

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

and

, although the strongest winds and heaviest flooding remained north of the states. The heaviest rainfall from Harold in Mexico occurred in the city of

in Coahuila, with over falling within a few hours. Street flooding was reported in

Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, Texas, Laredo, United States. The 2010 census popula ...

Notes

References

External links

* The National Hurricane Center'
advisory archive on Tropical Storm Harold
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harold Atlantic hurricanes in Mexico 2023 Atlantic hurricane season 2023 natural disasters in the United States August 2023 in Mexico August 2023 in the United States