Thunderstorms leave Valley soaked

HARLINGEN - Rain-filled clouds rolled into the area Tuesday, making for a rare rainy afternoon.

Rainfall totals varied widely, meteorologist Alfredo Vega said from the National Weather Service office in Brownsville.

"We had a pretty good thunderstorm around Rancho Viejo, Olmito and San Benito" that produced 2 to 4 inches of rain around 2 p.m., Vega said. La Feria and Santa Rosa had 1-2 inches of rain there.

Another storm over the Rio Grande near Hidalgo dropped 3-4 inches of rain, Vega said.

The Valley Morning Star's weather station on Commerce Avenue registered 0.1 inch of rain.

Around 2 p.m., the weather service's doppler radar indicated rainfall rates of 2 inches per hour from a thunderstorm over western Cameron County.

The weather service issued an urban and small stream flood advisory that was in effect until 3 p.m. The advisory included Olmito, Harlingen and Valley International Airport, San Benito, La Feria and Brownsville.

Excessive runoff from the storm could cause flooding of low-lying areas and intersections.

The area's annual rainfall deficit remained around 7 inches below normal.

Vega said the region should have about 12.7 inches of rain by this time of year.

"We need a lot more to catch up," he said.

There may be more wet weather to come. The forecast through the Fourth of July holiday weekend calls for a 50-60 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms every day.