La Feria News

Weather Wreaks Havoc Throughout Rio Grande Valley

Heavy rainfall last Wednesday morning caused major flooding that submerged vehicles and structures, forced evacuations and led to numerous water rescues throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Photo: Courtesy La Feria Police Department

by Tony Vindell/LFN

The first major rain of 2018 caused widespread flooding in practically every Rio Grande Valley city last week.

Although the sun shone on and off on Thursday, the hopes of a better day were overpowered as more showers were descending into the region later in the day.

According to an American Red Cross spokeswoman, several La Feria residents were transfered to the emergency shelter dome in Los Fresnos on FM 803 due to the La Feria dome shelters being inaccessable due to flooding.

Meanwhile, 94 people in Donna and more than 100 in Weslaco did the same.

La Feria’s Main Street quickly became flooded during Tuesday night’s torrential downpour. Photo: Victor Moreno/LFN

More than a foot precipitation rain fell in the Weslaco area on Tuesday, June 19, filling streets with water and leaving many vehicles stalled.

La Feria’s Main Street quickly became flooded from North 506, past the corner of Expressway 83 all the way south toward South 506.

The La Feria Police quickly shut down the street and were redirecting traffic during the storm.

The La Feria fire department were able to utilize their recently acquired brush truck to help stranded motorists who had become stuck in the quickly rising flood waters.

According to the National Weather Service in Brownsville, more than 6 inches of water fell in Los Fresnos over a three-day period last week and more than 6 inches rain was recorded in La Feria on Tuesday.

Estimates indicate that more than a foot of water fell in Weslaco.

Much of La Feria’s downtown area became flooded during last week’s rainfall. Photo: Victor Moreno/LFN

Another area pounded by the rain was Port Mansfield in eastern Willacy County where a vessel was reportedly sinking at the harbor after taking on so much water.

The deluge was caused by an area of low pressure and deep moisture coming from the Gulf of Mexico, Jason Straub, a NWS meteorologist said.

Tim Speece, another NWS forecaster, said the area was expected to get a break just in time for the weekend.

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