During the spring season, as well occasionally during the fall season, severe thunderstorms often build on the Serranias Del Burro to the distant west of Del Rio. This is believed to occur due to the uplift of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico which is channeled along the Rio Grande River. In the event of an strong mid-to-upper troposphere trough positioned over the Desert Southwest, these severe thunderstorms can migrate off the higher terrain of the mountains and across the Rio Grande into the Ciudad Acuña and Del Rio area and cause significant damage when they impact populated areas. One of these storms caused several deaths in Ciudad Acuña on May 25, 2015, when a tornado destroyed several structures in the town. Del Rio itself was largely spared, but saw a massive hailstorm the following year on February 22, 2016, causing widespread damage, especially to Laughlin AFB. In April 2020, Del Rio was impacted by another hail storm resulting in several observations of up to 4-inch diameter hail stones, and two weeks later, was blasted by damaging winds recorded at . Both storms inflicted widespread damage across the city. Despite this, most of the severe storms across the region impact rural areas with little to no population and are routinely unreported.