A severe thunderstorm warning for Willacy County expired Friday at 8:15 p.m. after a tornado warning for Willacy and Kenedy counties had just ended, with the storm line still tracking toward Port Mansfield.
The warning came as a tornadic thunderstorm moved through the area, and forecasters said the storms could still bring wind gusts of up to 40 mph and pea-sized hail. The severe alert was in effect only briefly, but it marked the moment when the stronger part of the system was still close enough to pose a risk to people in the county.
By the time the warning expired, the immediate threat had eased enough for the severe designation to be lifted. Even so, strong but not severe thunderstorms were still moving through coastal areas of northeastern Willacy County, a reminder that the weather was not done with the region yet.
What mattered most Friday night was not the label on the alert, but the sequence behind it: a tornado warning first, then a severe thunderstorm warning as the same storm pushed toward Port Mansfield. That chain told residents that the worst part of the system had passed through, but that the coastal counties were still dealing with dangerous weather and the possibility of continued gusty rain bands.
For people in Willacy County, the answer was clear by 8:15 p.m.: the severe thunderstorm warning had expired, but the storms themselves had not fully cleared the coast.
