BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The recent rains that pounded the entire Rio Grande Valley has led to disaster declarations issued in Cameron and Willacy counties and both took effect Thursday.
And while the threat of the first tropical storm of the above average 2024 Hurricane Season is over, more rain is being forecasted for this weekend.
According to the National Hurricane Center, a second tropical cyclone could develop this Saturday with a chance estimated at 50 percent.
And although the core of the system is set to be south of the RGV, there is a possibility the region will get one to three inches of rain.
That’s in addition to the two to six inches some parts of the region received since the middle of this week.
Some areas in both counties are still flooded though the waters have subsided.
On Texas Highway 48, small lakes of water have been formed and can be seen from the Port of Brownsville to just south of Port Isabel.
The Jaime Zapata Boat Ramp and Fishing Pier was under water on Wednesday and Thursday and it was going back to normal on Friday even though the boat ramp and two shelters are still half covered with water.
Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., signed and declared the county an area of “disaster in response to significant threats.”
The declaration, which will be in effect for the next seven days, encourages residents to take the necessary precautions to stay safe.
And in Willacy County, Judge Aurelio “Keter” Guerra also issued a declaration, stating the county has “suffered damage, injury or loss of property, resulting from the tropical storm.”
Frank Torres, Willacy County’s emergency management coordinator, said some places there got flooded this week but the waters subsided rather quickly.
He also said no major damages were reported.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is being forecasted as above normal with 17 to 25 named storms, having winds of 39 miles per hour or higher.
Of that number, eight to 13 are forecasted to become hurricanes.
And four to seven major hurricanes could develop, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.
