Hail, Wind & Tornado Reports in and near Falcon Mesa, TX

Wind Report Description: Damage from the microburst was first surveyed about 2 miles west of the center of town along and near Farm to Market (FM) Highway 496. In the neighborhood of Falcon Mesa, along FM 3074, numerous barrel tiles were torn from the roof; in the same neighborhood, numerous large limbs from ebony and live oak trees were blown down, and minor damage to roofs was noted at other homes. Similar tree and roof damage was noted at another neighborhood along Oak Street, just south of the Zapata Cemetary.||Farther east along FM 496, several large fiberglass storage tanks were rolled, and damaged beyond repair, at a facility between FM 3074 and the Zapata County cemetary. On the same property, a manufactured home had numerous holes in its west facing wall, from wind driven pebbles and stones. The same home had fairly significant asphalt shingle damage to its roof. A nearby low metal tower was bent in half.||The worst-looking damage was seen just west of the center of town, along FM 496 only 1/3 mile west of the intersection of Federal Highway 83. Here, significant damage was incurred to many units at the Highway 496 Storage facility. ||The microburst slammed into the west facing wall of the first of two long, cinderblock structures, and lifted most of the roof up and over the first building, slamming it into the second building about 50 feet to the east. While the truss and bracing of the roof appeared sound, only long nails were found at the connections of the eaves. Missiles generated by the broken roof drove into both cinderblock, and an individual metal garage, in the second building. Another light metal structure, housing another set of individual storage units, separated and collapsed on the leeward side of the second building. ||The microburst continued moving steadily southeast, causing notable damage to neighborhoods in the southwest part of town. Dozens of homes and other structures with poorly anchored roofing material sustained significant damage; a large portion of tin roof was removed from a two story church a few blocks from the center of town. Another barrel-tile roof was damaged at a motel, and the water leak caused at least one unit to be uninhabitable.||In all neighborhoods, hundreds of mesquite and ebony tree limbs of many shapes and sizes were snapped off, some onto roofs, including the town's public library. As the storm finally edged south, additional tree damage was noted in the Falcon Lake Estates subdivision, just south of the bridge, where a report of a blown down roof of a two story house was also received as the storm weakened slightly.||The Zapata County Emergency Manager reported power lines and several trees were down in Zapata and approximately 200 to 300 people were without power at 9 pm. ||Wind speeds were estimated to be between 70 and 75 mph area wide, with the strongest speeds generally along and just south of FM 496 from just west of the cemetary to highway 83. Total path length was estimated to be a little more than 3.5 miles long; width was estimated to be about 1.5 miles.