Tornado...

 

If you heard there was a tornado in our area last night, we are fine.  It's true - a tornado did touch down in Laguna Heights, the small community just to the west of Port Isabel.  Two people are known dead and authorities are going house to house right now.  The Port Isabel High School is actually at the east side of Laguna Heights.  Highway 100 (which goes from the Interstate to South Padre Island) is closed in that area; traffic is being turned away from either direction.   That highway is the main road to Port Isabel and South Padre Island.  Traffic is being rerouted to Highway 48, which goes to Brownsville.

We watched weather last night before going to bed.  There was a "15% chance of severe weather" in our area; a 2% chance of a tornado.  Joan asked that I put the hurricane shutters down most of the way, and we completely closed the big shutter over the sliding glass door and two full-length glass panels.  Everything outside had been battened down.

During the night, the thunder and lightning ramped up big time just after 3:00.  Rufus snuggled in closer than usual.  I never heard any wind (like we had with the last storm, where 80+ mph straight line winds blew through), but the rain pounded.  Around 4:00, the power went out.  It seemed like the storm lessened after that, and we all went back to sleep.  Power was out about an hour.

When we got up this morning and looked outside, there wasn't a single palm tree branch down.  No debris in the streets.  While I fed Rufus, Joan looked on her iPad and that's when we first heard that there had been a tornado that touched down around 4:01 am in Laguna Heights.  A shelter has been set up in the Port Isabel Events Center.

The descriptions of the situation in Laguna Heights sounds bad: houses destroyed, power lines down.  Laguna Heights is what I would euphemistically describe as economically disadvantaged.  A lot of the homes there are normally not in the best condition.  One block off the 4 lane that goes through the middle of town, the streets are unpaved.

As the crow flies (we have pelicans, seagulls, and osprey here), that is about 3 miles from our island; further by road...

For perspective, we are on the island in that red circle I added to the map.  We don't have to be anywhere but home today.  But, for people coming to South Padre Island (or leaving the island), having Highway 100 closed is a concern.  With this being Mother's Day weekend, crowds are expected in the area.

The weather is supposed to be crap this weekend and beyond.  This morning at 9:20, another round of thunder and lightning is moving through.  The last clap of thunder was close!  We raised the hurricane shutters on the west side of the house this morning so we'd have a view of what's going on outside... we'll be ready to lower them again, if necessary.

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In a completely unrelated change of pace, the house on the corner (two down from us) is a rental.  It is generally occupied on weekends, and occasionally longer during the winter.  Yesterday afternoon, there were two pickups in the small parking in front of the house, both sticking out into the street.  Whoever is renting that put a brand new boat at the small dock.  It is the typical (for around here) flat bottom fishing boat.  Joan said, "I think they are going to take that boat out."

I said, "Nobody in their right mind would intentionally head out in this kind of weather.  But, I understand the allure of getting out in a new boat."

Sure enough, with the stereo blasting (also required on a new boat), 4 adult males headed out.  I guess that clears up any question about those guys being in their right mind.  With lightning in the nearby area.  If they would wait a couple hours, there will be break before the forecast turns ugly again.

I hope we don't read anything unfortunate about these guys.

Here's the local marine forecast:

For the bay...

SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION

TODAY
Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Choppy on the bay. Numerous showers this morning. Scattered thunderstorms. Scattered showers this afternoon. Some thunderstorms may be severe with damaging winds.

TONIGHT
East winds 15 to 20 knots becoming southeast 10 to 15 knots after midnight. Choppy on the bay becoming a moderate chop after midnight. Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms may be severe with damaging winds.

For the Gulf...

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT

TODAY
Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet, with occasional seas up to 8 feet. Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms may be severe with damaging winds and heavy rainfall.

TONIGHT
East winds 15 to 20 knots becoming southeast 10 to 15 knots after midnight. Seas 5 to 7 feet, with occasional seas up to 8 feet. Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms may be severe with damaging winds and heavy rainfall.

(Some people don't know enough to check the forecast before heading out.)

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The local weather just broke in on regular programming: it was predicted that we would get 1.25" of rain in our area over the next several days (including last night).  Laguna Vista (the community to the other side of Laguna Heights) reported over 5" of rain overnight.  And more coming for the next 7 days.

 The area is now under a Flood Advisory.  Not a problem on our island, as the water can run off, but just inland, there is no place for accumulated water to go.