⚠️ Special Weather Statement – Zapata; Starr – Friday, September 18, 2026

Special Weather Statement issued September 18 at 3:32PM CDT by NWS Brownsville TX

Details

At 330 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from the Zapata and Webb County line to Rio Grnade
City. Movement was west at 20 mph.

HAZARD…Wind gusts up to 45 mph.

SOURCE…Radar indicated.

IMPACT…Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects.

Locations impacted include…
Zapata, Rio Grande City, Roma, Escobares, El Sauz, Lopeno, La Rosita,
Bustamante, Medina, and Zapata High School.

Instructions

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms and may lead
to localized flooding and ponding of water on roads. Do not drive
your vehicle through flooded roadways.

Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with these storms.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.

If on or near Falcon Lake, get out of the water and move indoors or
inside a vehicle. Remember, lightning can strike out to 10 miles
from the parent thunderstorm. If you can hear thunder, you are close
enough to be struck by lightning. Move to safe shelter now! Do not
be caught on the water in a thunderstorm.

This alert was automatically posted by SkyGuard, MWSC’s severe weather alerting system. Source: National Weather Service.