Severe flooding swept South Texas and cities across the border in Mexico on Thursday, as half a year’s rainfall drenched the region in less than two days. Officials warned of more rain on Friday and shut schools on the U.S. side.
Thunderstorms brought 10 to 15 inches of rain to the parts of Texas where flash flood warnings were in effect, said Geoffrey Bogorad, a senior forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Brownsville. As much as four more inches were expected to fall, he said, as the Weather Service warned of more flash floods on Friday.
The rain has flooded homes and roads and prompted at least nine school districts in the Rio Grande Valley to cancel classes on Friday. Multiple cities in South Texas this week saw record amounts of rain for late March, with 12 inches falling in Harlingen, and 11 in McAllen, during a 24-hour period, Mr. Bogorad said. The semiarid region along the border with Mexico usually receives about 25 inches annually.
“This is a particularly dangerous situation,” the Weather Service said in a statement late Thursday, adding that the flash flooding was life-threatening and the damage could be catastrophic. “Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding, or under an evacuation order.”
The storms have also soaked Mexico. The weather authorities there warned late Thursday of winds of up to 50 miles per hour overnight, with heavy rain and some hail expected in the border states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon.
Thunderstorms began dousing South Texas on Wednesday. Meteorologists warned of heavy rainfall and flash flooding as they observed another round of thunderstorms on Thursday.
By the afternoon, the storm had flooded homes in McAllen and damaged buildings with winds a strong as 70 m.p.h. Images on social media showed highways and access roads in South Texas and Mexico flooded with up to four feet of water.
The police also said that a tornado had touched down in Edcouch on Thursday, though no damage was reported, according to Mr. Bogorad.
Water rescues were taking place late Thursday in La Feria as meteorologists declared a flash flood emergency, urging residents to seek higher ground immediately. Many of the water rescues were from cars getting stuck in rising waters, Mr. Bogorad said. There were no reports of injuries.
“I don’t recall seeing this type of rainfall in March in deep South Texas,” he said. “This is a pretty substantial widespread event.”
Flash flood warnings were active in Brooks, Cameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Starr and Willacy counties on Thursday night and expected to last into Friday morning. A warning is issued when a flash flood is imminent or occurring and residents should move to high ground.
School districts in Texas near the border, including those in Donna, Hidalgo, Mission, McAllen, Mercedes, Pharr, Progreso, San Benito and Weslaco announced that they were canceling classes on Friday, citing the weather. South Texas College also said that it would close all campuses on Friday.
A flood watch, which signals that flooding is possible, was in effect early Friday for more than ” rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>5.4 million people in South and Southeast Texas and southern Louisiana.
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