Valley under tornado watch through Thursday morning

The National Weather Service Brownsville-Rio Grande Valley station issued a tornado watch for the Valley on Wednesday evening.

The watch covers Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy, Starr and Brooks counties while stretching north and northwest to numerous other counties.

On Facebook, the NWS said rapidly developing smaller cells formed in the wake of persistent rains that are moving into the upper Valley and Rio Grande Plains.

Those smaller cells are producing short periods of torrential rainfall.

“Overnight, we expect much less coverage, especially away from the coast,” the post stated. “But there is an increasing threat for more local rotation in separate cells, so we’ll be watching for potential small ‘spin-up’ tornadoes through the night and into Thursday.”

In May 2023, a deadly tornado tore through Laguna Heights, injuring 11 and killing one person — the first tornado-related death since the 20th Century.

The tornado watch comes as Tropical Storm Alberto — the first of the year — makes its way into Mexico while bringing rain to South Texas.

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