Valley braces for more rain as flooding triggers road closures, disaster declarations

Heavy rainfall Monday caused flooding and road closures that prompted two Rio Grande Valley cities to issue disaster declarations.

Both Progreso and Weslaco issued the declarations after rainwater flooded Farm-to-Market Road 1015 in Progreso and the eastbound frontage road between Westgate Dr. and Texas Blvd. in Weslaco.

The Texas Department of Transportation announced closures for those portions of the roadway Monday morning expected to last at least through Monday evening.

Weslaco announced a list of 14 other road closures Monday afternoon.

Authorities urged residents to exercise caution, monitor weather conditions and avoid unnecessary travel while rain persists.

“The combination of deep tropical moisture, a weak cold front north of our region, and low pressure directly overhead in the middle layers of the atmosphere will cause these heavy showers and thunderstorms to produce 3 to 5 inches of rain per hour,” the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) Brownsville said on social media Monday morning. “This will result in widespread, and possibly catastrophic, flash flooding, especially in cities and towns where the heavy showers and thunderstorms persist for long periods of time.”

NWS announced Monday afternoon that a flood watch was in effect for all of deep South Texas through Thursday morning. It estimated total rainfall amounts between five and 10 inches, with isolated rainfall totals of 12 inches or more where heavier rainfall occurs.

Many of the businesses located on the flooded frontage road in Weslaco were open Monday afternoon despite the flooding, though some customers and employees had to rely on side streets to access locations rather than the frontage road.

Yesenia Esparza owns Nail Godesses, a nail salon on the frontage road in the middle of the flooded area with a sole entrance and exit.

Esparza had to close her salon Monday. She said there was no way to access it.

The closure, Esparza estimated, cost her about $1,000 in revenue.

“Well it’s a Monday. I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls, and I’ve been telling people I’m sorry, but we had to close,” she said.

Nail Godesses has operated out of that location for five years.

Esparza says flooding has caused her to close shop on numerous occasions.

It’s frustrating, she said.

“Every time it rains, it floods,” she said.

Despite that, Esparza says she’s optimistic about Weslaco’s efforts to address flooding that’s become a regular occurrence in town, referencing Monday’s disaster declaration and drainage initiatives the city has embarked on recently.

“I feel like it’s a lot better than it was years before,” she said. “I know they’re working on it.”