Event narrative (NOAA)
US Border Patrol reported the death of two undocumented immigrants on the King Ranch in Kenedy County, TX, during the afternoon of December 7, due to hypothermia, as indicated by medical staff who discovered the bodies. One death was to a 28 year old man who literally gave the clothes off his back to provide warmth for children. Two other migrant workers were given treatment for hypothermia and sent to regional hospitals. The sharp change of the season's first significant cold front after a record-shattering warm January through November likely contributed to the death by lack of acclimation. Just two days earlier, temperatures had been in the mid 80s; on the 7th, wind chills in the lower 30s were too much for migrants with limited clothing and shelter.
Other notable cold/wind chill events in Texas
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.