Flash Flood — Cameron, Texas

2025-03-27 to 2025-03-28 · near Los Indios, Cameron, Texas

Event narrative

Some of the heaviest rainfall associated with the historic rainfall of March 26-28 fell in Harlingen. In total, nearly 19 inches was measured by trusted sources, with radar estimates up to 20.5 inches. During the peak of the multiple bands from early evening through just after midnight on the 28th, estimated rainfall rates were at least 3 per hour for at least 3 hours, including at Harlingen/Valley International Airport, where 5 fell in just 90 minutes before the power went out due to lightning strikes.

Hundreds, if not a thousand, structures had flood damage ranging from affected to destroyed. Damage details will be available for this part of Cameron County, which stretches from Harlingen through Rio Hondo and southwest to San Benito, at a later date in 2025. Harder hit areas reported up to 4 feet of water, including the IH-2 and IH-69E frontage roads in these areas. For several areas, this event ranked as a 1/100 to 1/200 annual return frequency probability event, with perhaps up to a 1/500 event in a few spots. High water would continue in several hours for a few more days, though rapid runoff allowed for relatively quick recovery.

As of July 1, a preliminary estimate of $105 million was derived from Public Assistance (PA) and Individual Assistance (IA) reports, based on applying two-thirds of the values from the number of structures that were impacted with varying levels of damage in Cameron County. The damage was applied to this entry, since much was triggered by the rainfall and rainfall rates in these areas at these times. Full damage statistics will be available by the end of 2025 or start of 2026.

Wider weather episode

Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms pummeled the Lower Rio Grande Valley, especially during the afternoon and overnight hours of March 27th into early on March 28th, resulting in historic seasonal rainfall and widespread flash and areal flooding across the RGV. Total rainfall ranged from 8 to nearly 19 inches based on trusted observations, with 10 inches or more falling across some of the highest populated locations from south McAllen through the south side of Interstate Highway 2 in Hidalgo County, then farther north in Cameron County, where 12 to nearly 19 inches fell between La Feria and Rio Hondo, including Harlingen and San Benito. Trusted radar estimates indicated up to 20.5 inches in east Harlingen, but as of this writing there were no verified values this high from trusted observers.

Initial rainfall began late on March 26th in eastern and southern Cameron County, with flooding in east Brownsville toward Port Isabel around sunrise on the 27th.

Nearly five thousand homes and other structures were impacted, with more than two thousand having major damage or destruction due to 2 or more feet of water in them. Hundreds of local roads were flooded with up to 4 feet of water in some places, and at least one thousand vehicles trapped on flooded roads were damaged or totaled. Unfortunately, there were fatalities, with five dead on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande due to drowning and a lightning-induced fire, and one on the Mexican side of the border in Reynosa.

In addition to the flooding, wind damage occurred in several locations, with two small tornadoes touching down during the late afternoon of the 27th near Edcouch, and just after midnight on the 28th in Port Isabel.

Though damage estimates were still unknown as of late May, it is estimated that total damage was upwards of $100 million. By early July, damage estimates had risen to $157 million; these numbers only included initial values of Public Assistance (PA) of $94 million, and $63 million in Individual Assistance in much of the Rio Grande Valley. These values did not include privately-insured damage, and totals were likely to exceed $200 million. Additional damage estimates will be available by the end of 2025.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (26.0565, -97.7703)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1249939. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.