Cameron County officials warn of possible flooding from Hermine

Cameron County officials are encouraging residents to be aware of flooding that was expected to be brought to the area following the overnight landfall of Tropical Storm Hermine.

The storm was expected to make landfall just south of Brownsville, and there was a possibility it would reach hurricane status by that time, Alfredo Vega of the National Weather Service Office in Brownsville said Monday afternoon.

A tropical storm wind warning – and a flash flood watch – remain in effect until 7 p.m. A flood watch means that flooding is possible during the next 24 to 36 hours.

The storm also prompted the Los Fresnos School District to delay the start of classes by one hour today, district officials said. The district was to send home fliers with the students, who had school Monday, announcing the change.

The Brownsville Independent School District was monitoring the storm, and as of press time no decision had been made whether the district would delay or cancel classes. Also as of press time, classes were still scheduled for today at the University of Texas and Texas Southmost College.

Officials said although they were concerned about the winds that the tropical storm could bring, they were more concerned about the heavy amount of rain the South Texas area could receive because of the already saturated grounds.

Vega said the storm was expected to drop between 4 and 8 inches of rain in some areas with isolated amounts of up to 12 inches.

“It (the 12 inches) could be over northeast Mexico or it could be over South Texas,” he said, noting that it was difficult to predict exactly where the heavy rain will fall.

The rapid development of the storm – late Sunday night and early Monday morning – gave Rio Grande Valley residents little time to prepare.

A hurricane watch was issued for the South Texas area early Monday afternoon. Winds were expected to be at least 40 to 50 mph with higher gust of 60 to 65 mph overnight Monday.

“At this time of the year, and especially over the Gulf where there are warm waters, systems can develop very rapidly,” Vega said.

On Monday, Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos ordered a voluntary evacuation of high-profile vehicles from county parks on South Padre Island. All individuals with RVs or other high-profile vehicles were encouraged to consider taking precautionary measures and relocating immediately.

Cascos also ordered the closures of beach access No. 5 and beach access No. 6 on the northern end of South Padre Island due to high tides and dangerous conditions.

“I think we are going to be OK” but there could be some flooding in some areas, Cascos said.

“Because the ground is saturated already we are going to have some areas that are going to flood,” Cascos said. “It looks like it is on a direct hit on Brownsville or maybe a couple of miles south.”

Cameron County also distributed sandbags at the county’s four precinct warehouses.

County officials met at least twice on Monday to prepare for the storm. All public work crews were ordered to take necessary precautions, to continue to bag sandbags and move some of the county’s heavy equipment and water pumps in low-lying areas.

Brownsville city officials were also meeting Monday to prepare for the storm. City crews were checking and cleaning drainage systems while workers with the Brownsville Public Utilities Board were draining the resacas to prevent overflows, City Manager Charlie Cabler said.

“We are expecting a tropical storm or a small hurricane,” he said. “We are expecting rain and wind conditions that we have to be on alert for so we will be working throughout the night.

“We are anticipating a lot of rain,” he said.

Cameron County officials are encouraging residents to be aware of flooding that was expected to be brought to the area following the overnight landfall of Tropical Storm Hermine.

The storm was expected to make landfall just south of Brownsville, and there was a possibility it would reach hurricane status by that time, Alfredo Vega of the National Weather Service Office in Brownsville said Monday afternoon.

A tropical storm wind warning – and a flash flood watch – remain in effect until 7 p.m. A flood watch means that flooding is possible during the next 24 to 36 hours.

The storm also prompted the Los Fresnos School District to delay the start of classes by one hour today, district officials said. The district was to send home fliers with the students, who had school Monday, announcing the change.

The Brownsville Independent School District was monitoring the storm, and as of press time no decision had been made whether the district would delay or cancel classes. Also as of press time, classes were still scheduled for today at the University of Texas and Texas Southmost College.

Officials said although they were concerned about the winds that the tropical storm could bring, they were more concerned about the heavy amount of rain the South Texas area could receive because of the already saturated grounds.

Vega said the storm was expected to drop between 4 and 8 inches of rain in some areas with isolated amounts of up to 12 inches.

“It (the 12 inches) could be over northeast Mexico or it could be over South Texas,” he said, noting that it was difficult to predict exactly where the heavy rain will fall.

The rapid development of the storm – late Sunday night and early Monday morning – gave Rio Grande Valley residents little time to prepare.

A hurricane watch was issued for the South Texas area early Monday afternoon. Winds were expected to be at least 40 to 50 mph with higher gust of 60 to 65 mph overnight Monday.

“At this time of the year, and especially over the Gulf where there are warm waters, systems can develop very rapidly,” Vega said.

On Monday, Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos ordered a voluntary evacuation of high-profile vehicles from county parks on South Padre Island. All individuals with RVs or other high-profile vehicles were encouraged to consider taking precautionary measures and relocating immediately.

Cascos also ordered the closures of beach access No. 5 and beach access No. 6 on the northern end of South Padre Island due to high tides and dangerous conditions.

“I think we are going to be OK” but there could be some flooding in some areas, Cascos said.

“Because the ground is saturated already we are going to have some areas that are going to flood,” Cascos said. “It looks like it is on a direct hit on Brownsville or maybe a couple of miles south.”

Cameron County also distributed sandbags at the county’s four precinct warehouses.

County officials met at least twice on Monday to prepare for the storm. All public work crews were ordered to take necessary precautions, to continue to bag sandbags and move some of the county’s heavy equipment and water pumps in low-lying areas.

Brownsville city officials were also meeting Monday to prepare for the storm. City crews were checking and cleaning drainage systems while workers with the Brownsville Public Utilities Board were draining the resacas to prevent overflows, City Manager Charlie Cabler said.

“We are expecting a tropical storm or a small hurricane,” he said. “We are expecting rain and wind conditions that we have to be on alert for so we will be working throughout the night.

“We are anticipating a lot of rain,” he said.