Severe thunderstorms knock out power to 45,000 across Valley as microburst damages homes, infrastructure

Severe thunderstorms that moved across the Rio Grande Valley on Saturday morning knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers and damaged homes, utility poles, trees, and traffic signals across parts of Cameron County, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service said a microburst with estimated winds between 65 and 80 mph moved from Harlingen to Laureles shortly after 10 a.m., leaving a nearly 13-mile damage path.

At the peak of the storm, at least 45,000 electricity customers lost power across the region, according to the National Weather Service. AEP Texas later said outages peaked at about 35,700 customers before crews restored most service by Saturday evening.

Officials said three people suffered minor injuries during the storm, all involving residents of mobile homes.

Local officials are now asking residents and businesses to report storm-related damage through the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s online damage assessment portal as recovery efforts continue.

Forecasters said there is still a slight chance of additional showers and thunderstorms on Sunday. Patchy fog is also possible before 9 a.m. Sunday. Otherwise, conditions are expected to remain partly sunny with a high near 92 degrees and east southeast winds between 5 and 10 mph.