By Alana Hernandez and Diana Eva Maldonado, Staff writers
A line of severe thunderstorms that moved across most of Cameron County overnight downed dozens of power lines on South Padre Island leaving thousands without electricity.
City officials say residents should be prepared to be without power for several days. They say the storm caused severe damage to the power lines.
Padre Boulevard, the main street that runs through the Island, is littered with utility poles that landed on the street or are dangling from power lines and is closed to all traffic.
AEP Texas is reporting more than 4,000 customers on the Island are without power, while another 1,300 in Laguna Vista have no electricity and more than 300 in the Bayview area are in the dark. The utility company has a number of crews in the area trying to restore power.
A section of Gulf Boulevard is also closed off to traffic as are a number of side streets.
Officers with South Padre Island Police and the Cameron County Sheriffs Department are patrolling the island.
The Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway was closed early Monday morning, but has since reopened. Officials say motorists can expect delays on the bridge.
The National Weather Service in Brownsville issued a number of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings overnight.
The forecast calls for more scattered showers through the week.
POWER OUTAGES IN BROWNSVILLE
Right now there are more than 2,000 customers are without power in North Brownsville surrounding the Ruben M. Torres and Old Port Isabel area.
BPUB says its crews are in the area working on the outage and hoping to have power back on as soon as possible.
