On 50th anniversary of Hurricane Beulah, meteorologist asks what if?

MERCEDES, RGV – A local meteorologist says the Rio Grande Valley’s flood control system has improved since 1967’s Hurricane Beulah, but is uncertain if today’s infrastructure can sustain two major storms in a short time period.

The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) held a public meeting in Mercedes to discuss the 50-year history of Hurricane Beulah and if the Valley’s flood control system can sustain major storms.

At the USIBWC office, Barry Goldsmith, Warning Coordination Meteorologist of the National Weather Service, gave a presentation on how Hurricane Beulah developed and evolved, the damages and costs, and the potential destruction of a storm like that today.

After midnight on September 20, 1967, a Category 5 hurricane directly struck the Valley and caused major devastation in the region. Ron Whitlock, who was working as a young reporter for K-Rio 910 AM at the time, said the hurricane was downgraded to a Category 3 storm as it reached the mainland. He said the real damage was done by flooding many days later, when torrential rain came back down the mountains around Monterrey and burst the banks of the Rio Grande.

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