Storm rips through Valley, Texas

HARLINGEN - Strong thunderstorms that ripped through the area Friday sent 13 people to the hospital with minor injuries, overturned cars and knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses.

The west window of the air traffic control tower cap at Valley International Airport was smashed when it was struck by part of a metal roof that had blown off from a nearby building.

In the Las Yescas area, a family lost a portion of its roof, family members said.

"My sister (Mayra) had gotten up to watch the weather reports on TV with my mother (Hermelinda)," said Omar Rodriguez, 17. "Then, suddenly, we heard a large crash. We thought it was the satellite dish blowing away."

Instead, it was a large portion of the roof - about 25 square feet - that was ripped away by high winds.

"The piece of roof landed about 50 feet away, in front of our neighbor's yard," Rodrguez said.

No one was injured.

Meanwhile, city and power company crews were busy picking up debris and repairing lines after a line of thunderstorms brought high winds recorded as high as 86 mph to northern Cameron County and Willacy County about 4 a.m. Friday.

As thunderstorms ripped through the area, up to 9,000 customers lost electrical service in Harlingen, Weslaco, Edinburg and McAllen, American Electric Power spokesman Jerry Don Wilson said.

AEP crews worked throughout the morning, repairing lightning damage to power lines, and power lines brought down by falling tree limbs, Wilson said.

Cameron County Emergency Management Director Johnny Cavazos said the worst storm damage in the county seemed to be concentrated on the north side of Harlingen and in Santa Rosa.

In Santa Rosa, high winds overturned two cars along FM 506, Santa Rosa Police Chief J.M. Gonzalez said.

Winds overturned a vehicle at the intersection of FM 506 and Coco Road south of Santa Rosa, Gonzalez said.

Heavy gusts overturned another vehicle on FM 506 and Orphanage Road near Combes, Gonzalez said.

The most wind damage reported in the Rio Grande Valley was in Hidalgo County near Alton, National Weather Service forecaster Jim Campbell said.

"We've got damage all over the area," said Tony Peña, Hidalgo County's emergency management coordinator. "We don't have any fatalities. We do have multiple injuries."

Those injuries all proved to be minor. The 13 people hospitalized were released by Friday afternoon, including a woman who was swept across the street by the wind as her trailer collapsed.

The most extensive damage was confined to several colonias near the intersection of Monte Cristo Road and Las Cañas Drive, just north of Alton. Apparently, a localized burst of wind damaged nearly 25 homes in the area. At one colonia, the wind tossed the roof of a wrecked trailer hundreds of yards from the home and across Monte Cristo.

Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas said he requested an emergency declaration from the state and hoped to secure housing vouchers to help with the purchase new housing for families whose homes were destroyed.

Rainfall was reported as 1.35 inches at Harlingen, 0.09 at Brownsville, 1.02 at South Padre Island, 1.32 at Santa Rosa and the highest was 2.01 inches at Rio Grande City, Campbell said.

The storms began just before 3 a.m. Friday and dissipated by 6:30 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Monitor reporter Sean Gaffney contributed to this story.