Storms Stun Valley Cities as Rainfall Shatters Records Going Back to 1911

Mike Villarreal 

LFN

The Rio Grande Valley was left soaked Thursday after severe thunderstorms brought record rainfall, flooding, some reports of damages and promise of continued inclement weather well into Friday.

Holley Kamba, meteorologist for the National Weather Service Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley, said the cities of McAllen, Harlingen and Brownsville saw rainfall that exceeded previous records that in two cases go back more than a century.

McAllen recorded 4.96 inches of rain, breaking its previous record set in 1999. But Brownsville’s 5.3 inches collected Thursday topped a record going back to 1911. And the 3.72 inches of rain in Harlingen broke that city’s 102-year-old record set in 1923.

NWS said that 4.35 inches of the total rain that fell in McAllen occurred between the 1 and 4 p.m. hours. In Port Isabel, Laguna Heights and Laguna Vista, Kamba said as many as 7 inches fell before 7 a.m. Thursday.

The severe weather has also led to several school cancellations including the La Joya, Mercedes and Weslaco school districts, with Weslaco ISD indicating damage to facilities and the need to assess repairs.

PSJA, Donna, Edcouch-Elsa, Santa Rosa, Harlingen and San Benito schools also announced class cancellations for Friday.

The cities of McAllen, Edinburg and Pharr as well as La Feria, Mission, Los Fresnos, Harlingen and Brownsville in addition to other communities from around the Valley warned residents via social media of flash flooding and damages, and cautioned to take alternate travel routes.

South Texas Health System is asking the public for their patience as they deal with some “minor” flooding in the first floor of STHS McAllen.

The flooding occurred after some issues with a stormwater drain caused rainwater to spill into parts of the hospital’s first floor, according to an STHS news release.

Due to flooding the facility is directing all walk-ins and ambulance patients to other nearby hospitals as well as temporarily suspending visitation of patients.

Although parts of the hospital are restricted due to the flooding, hospital officials are reassuring that the facility remains open while they work to resolve the issue.

But one only had to step outside to see the aggressive storm’s impact on the region as lightning crashed, thunder roared and heavy rainfall saturated the area, which has been in desperate need of relief from an ongoing water crisis.

The NWS as of early Thursday evening, indicated that a flood watch will remain in effect for the area into Friday.

In the meantime, the city of Pharr announced late Thursday that it’s opening its two emergency shelters — one at the Jose “Pepe” Salinas Recreation Center on 1011 W. Kelly Ave., and the other at the Pharr Development and Research Center on 850 W. Dicker Road.

The City of La Feria has activated a safe shelter aswell at 1001 Pancho Maples Dr, starting today till Friday at noon. They will be providing sleeping cots for the community.

Residents are asked to bring their blankets, pillows, water, food, and medications if needed.

The city encourages residents to bring their IDs, medications, and blankets, but pets will not be allowed at the shelters. 

 Stay safe and stay home, it is extremely bad out there and it’s not worth it to be stranded. Prayers for everyone out there and hope everyone makes it home.