Tropical Storm Edouard emerged on Monday in the Gulf of Mexico, and there’s anticipation that it may strengthen, bringing the risk of significant rainfall and flooding to parts of Texas and Louisiana.
Late Monday, the storm was upgraded from a tropical depression, and the National Hurricane Center forecasts that it will make landfall in Texas on Tuesday.
As of early Tuesday, Edouard was located approximately 85 miles southeast of Cameron, Louisiana, and about 115 miles southeast of Port Arthur, Texas, with sustained winds reaching 40 mph, moving west-northwest at 7 mph.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott noted that flooding is expected to be the primary issue resulting from the storm.
Forecasts predict 3 to 6 inches of rain in the greater Houston area, while some parts of the upper Texas coast could see as much as 9 inches.
According to the National Hurricane Center, rainfall rates could exceed 4 inches per hour, likely leading to flash flooding in urban and low-lying areas.
“This is our first major storm of the season, and Texas is ready,” stated Orlando Alanis from the Texas Division of Emergency Management during a press briefing.
On Monday, teams worked to clear dry vegetation that could fuel wildfires ignited by lightning strikes, as Abbott explained.
Currently, the remnants of Hurricane Dolly were affecting areas in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as well as the Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas, according to the hurricane center.
In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Lowell was observed about 690 miles southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and moving west at 10 mph as of Monday night. Forecasters anticipated that Lowell could quickly intensify into a major hurricane by Wednesday.
Additionally, Hurricane Karina intensified into a Category 4 storm, thanks to warm ocean waters, but it poses no threat to land, according to reports. On Monday evening, Karina was situated 1,135 miles west-southwest of the southern Baja California peninsula with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, moving west-northwest at 9 mph.
