Thunderstorm Wind in Zapata County, Texas

A rapidly developing severe thunderstorm crossed the Rio Grande into Zapata County shortly after midnight on May 26. The storm produced damaging straight line winds across much of the city of Zapata, including portions of Medina Addition to the east and Sierra Shores to the south. Widespread damage was surveyed across the city with more than two dozen single wide mobile and manufactured homes having partial or total roof damage. Nearly all of the critically damaged infrastructure was of poor and older construction. More than a dozen wooden utility poles were leaning or broken, most of which had wet or rotting bases. Hundreds of healthy large tree branches were blown down, in addition to dozens of uprooted trees with shallow root systems.

Zapata County authorities and the Zapata County News (via the Emergency Management Coordinator) reported several instances of minor damage from a microburst during the late afternoon of August 24. In Falcon Heights (2 miles south-southeast of Zapata City), two anchored deer blinds were blown onto U.S. 83 from a nearby store display. In the city of Zapata, minor roof damage was reported to homes, several trees and large limbs were blown down, and power outages covered a large part of the city for 8 to 24 hours.

More than two dozen structures sustained varying damage to|poorly constructed wood, asphalt, and aluminum/tin roofs,|roof decking, and shingles in the Siesta Shores and Falcon|Heights neighborhoods in south Zapata, Texas. A poorly seated|cinder block knee wall and attached fence was blown down, and|a 100-foot tall thin metal tower was twisted. A few power poles|were knocked down by by flying aluminum roof pieces. Dozens of|medium mesquite limbs were blown down by flying aluminum roof|pieces.