Power Outage in Raymondville, TX

Temperatures fell below freezing around 6:30 PM on February 14th, and did not rise above freezing until around 2:00PM on the 16th. Due to power outages at the time, observation data was sparse on the morning of the 15th and 16th, but observations from adjacent Cameron, Hidalgo, and Kenedy Counties imply that lows in the lower 20s occurred on both mornings. Implied high temperatures likely only reached between 30-32 degrees on the 15th. This event, primarily the overnight lows from the 14th into the 15th, combined with brisk north winds likely contributed to most of the crop damage in the area, as well as most property damage associated with pipe leaks and bursts.||A period of light sleet mixed with freezing rain occurred for several hours from late on the 14th through very early on the 15th. While there were no direct impacts to property or crops, some elevated roads and bridges were closed through the 15th and into the 16th before temperatures rose well above freezing.

Hurricane Hanna moved across the western Gulf of Mexico and made landfall on the mid-Kenedy County coastline at around 5 PM Central Time Saturday, July 25th, carrying sustained 90 mph winds with gusts over 100 mph in a small portion of the inner eye wall. While there aren't many observations in Willacy County during this event, Buoy RSJT2 is just off the coastline in the Laguna Madre just north of Willacy County and can be used as a reasonable proxy. Based on the proxy observations, sustained winds likely reached near hurricane force (71 mph).With observations from RSJT2, along with radar analysis, it is reasonable to assume that portions of Willacy County experienced hurricane-force winds around 14:30 CST to 16:30 CST. ||Substantial and widespread wind damage was noted in and near Raymondville. A damage survey estimated wind gusts in Raymondville to have reached 75 to 80 mph during the period of eyewall passage, though strong tropical storm force gusts continued well into the evening and overnight of July 25/26 as the back side feeder bands continued to pummel the county from Raymondville to Lyford to Lasara and Sebastian. A peak gust of 80 mph was recorded in neighboring Hidalgo County, a few miles southwest of the Hidalgo/Willacy County line, at 1005 PM CST July 25. ||Damage included roof, shingle, and some wall damage to several dozen homes in Raymondville, as well as damage to farm buildings on the east side of town. 100 percent of the county was without power during the peak of the storm, due to dozens of snapped or leaning power poles and downed lines. Thousands of trees/limbs were snapped and dozens uprooted. A stadium light stanchion was ripped out of the ground by an eddy wind at Raymondville High School. Similar but lesser damage was seen in Lyford and Sebastian, where peak winds may have been closer to tropical storm force. Final individual assistance and insured property damage estimates for inland Willacy County were provided at the end of 2020 by NCEI. Local storm data experts partitioned the total damage estimate between the affected counties, and the portion for inland Willacy was $139.65 million. Public assistance damage estimates were $2.59 million. ||Sustained crop damage costs associated with these damaging winds is estimated to be 34.6 million - a combination of citrus and sugar cane.

One roof was blown off a residence in Raymondville, and there were several calls to dispatch of trees and power poles down between Raymondville and Lyford.

Numerous large mesquite and a few large ash tree limbs, including some uprooted trees, were seen on an NWS Storm Survey in western Willacy County from State Highway 186 about 8 miles west of Raymondville through and just south of Lasara along FM-1015. A few power lines were also felled. Wind speed estimated from the damage indicators and radar estimates.

Willacy County Emergency Manager reported a telephone pole blown down on FM 1015 in the town of Lasara and a power line down in Raymondville, near the intersection of TX 186 and Business 77.

Willacy County Emergency Manager reported a telephone pole blown down on FM 1015 in the town of Lasara and a power line down in Raymondville, near the intersection of TX 186 and Business 77.

A survey team revealed peak winds ranging from 74 to 86 mph for the Los Coyotes Tornado. The 86 mph winds were measured by a property owner���s weather station, whose information was considered viable based on visual evidence of damage and radar depiction of velocity in the core of the circulation, which exceeded 60 knots (70 mph). Damage in Los Coyotes was to a few barns and outbuildings, as well as uprooted and snapped trees. Emergency Management noted seven power poles were leaning or down, but had been repaired by the time to survey was conducted on October 31.

Light freezing drizzle, began around noon on February 3rd. The precipitation became steadier by afternoon, and by 5 PM, a glaze of 1/8 inch had accreted on exposed surfaces. The steady, occasionally heavy freezing drizzle continued overnight and into the morning hours of the 4th. Overnight, the glaze accumulated further, with 1/2 to 3/4 inch accretion common across inland Willacy County. Accretion was most significant on trees, wires, grasses, and signs.||At least 20 vehicle accidents were reported along the Expressway 77 overpasses near Raymondville between 530 and 930 PM on the 3rd. Emergency management reported that up to 1/8 inch accumulated on non elevated, untreated roads in some areas, as temperatures held in the upper 20s for most of the event. While the number of accidents was unfortunate, the total number was likely much lower due to early road closures. For most of the event, all overpasses in the county were closed to traffic due to the icing. ||As of this writing, there were no known injuries from falling ice, which was a clear hazard from late morning through mid afternoon of the 4th, when melting occurred.||Power outages due to the combination of cold temperatures and rolling statewide blackouts, as well as the icing, peaked somewhere between 3 and 5 thousand customers during the mid evening of the 3rd. Some of the outages were a result of rolling blackouts triggered by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to mitigate worse impacts elsewhere in the state; others were from ice accretion. ||The icing aggravated damages to agriculture, primarily to tropical plants. For more details on the overall damage to crops and livestock due to the freeze, see the episode on the freezing temperatures between February 3rd and 4th.

After ripping Harlingen's Valley International Airport with 72.5 mph wind gusts just prior to midnight CST (6 miles south of the Cameron/Willacy county line, the inner core of Hermine waned for a few moments before reintensifying in southern Willacy County, ultimately slamming through Raymondville at around 1 AM with wind gusts estimated just below hurricane force (70 mph). Widespread damage included hundreds of snapped limbs, dozens of uprooted trees, power outages to 75 to 80 per cent of the county, and destruction of several poorly constructed roofs and lean���tos. At one home, a trampoline sailed into a window, causing a scratch injury to a 5 year old girl. At a motor hotel along the expressway, roof decking was blown out, forcing 10 guests to escape the facility. Significant injuries were not reported, though at least one of the guests had minor scratches.||Damage was also noted to a few poorly constructed aluminum barns and surrounding trees in south central Willacy County, from 5 miles east of Lyford down FM 507 to near Santa Monica close to the Cameron County line.||AEP Texas reported 4400 customers without power during the peak of the storm.

The approach of Hurricane Dolly to the barrier shoreline of South Padre Island early on the morning of July 23rd brought sustained tropical storm force winds inland to the east side of Willacy County away from the immediate coast, at approximately 10 AM CDT on the 23rd. Prior rainbands may have produced frequent gusts to 40 mph, but the arrival of sustained tropical storm winds would be followed by wind damage and power outages, particularly during the afternoon. Prior to Dolly's landfall along the Cameron/Willacy County line, the western and southern eyewall intensified. The core of the eyewall traversed southern Willacy County, generally between 1230 PM and 6:30 PM, before weakening a bit while sliding into Hidalgo County. During this period, estimated and measured sustained winds between 60 and 70 mph, with frequent gusts to hurricane force (at least 78 mph measured at 2.25 meters above ground level in northern Cameron as a reference point), not only created widespread freshwater flooding, but created notable damage to poorly fastened roofs and some walls, particularly at industrial parks, strip centers, and farm buildings, especially along State Highway 186 from west of Port Mansfield to west of Raymondville. Otherwise, numerous large limbs, power lines and power poles, highway signs and billboards, were blown down across the area during this time period.||As Dolly's center eased slowly through southern and western Willacy County, winds actually dropped back for a time before a feeder band on the eastern side of the center, which moved into northern Hidalgo County during the evening and overnight, weakened, and estimated winds dropped below tropical storm force for the final time just after midnight on the 24th.||At the peak of the storm, power was out to most customers in Willacy County. Power recovery would take days to more than a week in most areas, particularly across the harder hit southern half of the county.

Strong and gusty southeast winds persisted through the night of the 17th and into the morning of the 18th, where they pulsed up once again along the Federal Highway 77 corridor and likely reaching into Willacy County between Sebastian and Raymondville. Sustained winds of 40 mph were recorded at Valley International Airport in northeast Harlingen, just 6 miles south of the county line, at 952 AM CST, with a peak gust to 52 mph at 1044 CST. Some power outages from fallen lines, and/or tree limbs having fallen on them, may have occurred during the morning of the 18th between Sebastian and Raymondville.

Very strong and gusty winds cranked up just before noon along the Federal Highway 77 corridor, reaching near or at 40 mph between Noon and 3:30 PM, along with a peak gust to 54 mph at Valley International Airport in Harlingen, only about 6 miles south of the Willacy County line, at 12:27 PM. The highest sustained wind was recorded at approximately 2:52 PM CT. It is likely that hundreds of residents were temporarily without power during the peak wind period in the county.