Tropical Storm Edouard Bears Down on Gulf Coast, Expected to Intensify
Texas and Louisiana brace for heavy rainfall and potential flooding as Edouard upgrades from tropical depression.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Carla Rooney
Tropical Storm Edouard is heading toward the Gulf Coast, expected to gain strength.
Edouard is expected to deliver three to six inches of rain across the upper Texas coast and east-central Texas. Isolated totals could reach nine inches, with more than four inches per hour likely to fall, causing flash flooding in low-lying and urban areas, the National Hurricane Center reports.
Southeast Texas, including Houston, remains under a flood watch through Wednesday morning. A storm surge of three to five feet is also expected along the coast.
This is our first big storm of the season, and I’ll tell you, Texas is prepared.
Orlando Alanis, Assistant Agency Director for the Texas Division of Emergency Management, stated the Gulf storm did not show potential Texas impacts until Sunday morning. This gave the state less time than usual to prepare, but Alanis affirmed, "This is our first big storm of the season, and I’ll tell you, Texas is prepared."
Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Marie formed early Tuesday well offshore of south-west Mexico. It moves north-west with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
Hurricane Karina became a hurricane on Sunday, strengthening into a powerful Category 4 storm by Monday. It remains far offshore and poses no threat to land.
Tropical Storm Lowell also moves west toward Hawaii and could rapidly intensify into a major hurricane by Wednesday, forecasters claim. The remnants of Hurricane Dolly brought rain and thunderstorms to parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the Turks & Caicos, and the Bahamas.