McAllen--12:10 p.m. July 23, 2008
News Channel 4 (KGBT-TV) is reporting almost a dozen downed power lines; they showed video of several poles cracked or fallen. The wind gusts are consistently near 79 MPH in some parts of Brownsville.
The eye of the hurricane is still hovering near S.P.I., but has not yet officially made landfall itself, which means, likely, that at this pace (7 MPH) it will take about 25 hours to cross the Rio Grande Valley--Cameron, Willacy, Hidalgo, and Starr Counties--and drop an increasingly scary amount of rain. It's as if she'll be taking bucketfulls of water from the tub of the Gulf and constantly soaking the Valley; fighting us from a distance; fighting her own debilitating death. But not before she inundates us.
There's a tornado watch until 7 p.m. for the Valley.
Channel 5 (KRGV-TV) is reporting debris at Port Isabel--rain gutters, etc. They also showed video of a downed light pole--the parking lot variety, not a power line--at Wal-Green's in downtown Harlingen; there, gusts are consistently at near 40 MPH (at the Harlingen Medical Center gauge).
The last hurricane to hit the area directly was Hurricane Allen in 1980. It made landfall at Port Mansfield and did a good job of blanketing the Valley in rain and flooding--but not nearly as devastating as Beulah in 1967.
God help us.
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I am watching the news reports anxiously. Construction on Paragraphs had been going along smoothly. When I was there last week the windows were in, roof on with about half of the shingles.
However, I have just selected the stucco, gutter and fascia colors so I know that wasn't finished and the wind may be able to get in under the roof creating problems.
The good news is, if the building stands up to this in its partially completed state it should be able to handle future storms when the construction is finished.
I had talked with the builder on Monday and he was feeling confident about surviving the wind but was more concerned with the flooding.
I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and sending my best wishes and prayers for everyone in the RGV,
And to you Daniel, keep dry and be safe. /JSM
Hey Daniel, got the link to your blog in my inbox today. Cool.
It's not looking so bad in Brownsville. Lots of wind and it hasn't stopped raining. The front of my house is flooded, but I don't see any major destruction in my neighborhood, which is next to the zoo and the Children's Museum. The wind gusts are probably the scariest part of it, seeing as how you can't tell when they will pick up and they are pretty loud and powerful. Power was flickering on and off this morning, but doing just fine now. Just waiting for it to stop raining.
I can't believe Whataburger is still open.
Take care.
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