Rain fell across parts of Texas and Louisiana on Tuesday as Tropical Storm Edouard moved toward the Gulf Coast, bringing the possibility of flooding as it was expected to strengthen significantly and possibly reach hurricane force, the National Hurricane Center warned.
Forecasters expected the storm to to make landfall in Texas on Tuesday and then rapidly weaken. In the meantime, several storms were brewing in the Pacific Ocean, including Lowell, which reached hurricane strength Tuesday morning.
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Edouard was about 25 miles (35 kilometers) southeast of the Texas coastal city of Port Arthur, near the Louisiana border and close to the area where it was expected to make landfall. Maximum sustained winds were at 50 mph (85 kph).
The hurricane center said Edouard was expected to dump 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) of rain along the Texas coast through east-central Texas, but some areas could see up to 9 inches (23 centimeters). Southwestern Louisiana was expected to see lesser amounts.
“That rainfall could produce some flash flooding and river flooding,” said Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the biggest problem expected from the storm is flooding.
“This is our first big storm of the season, and I’ll tell you, Texas is prepared,” Orlando Alanis of the Texas Division of Emergency Management said during a news conference.
Crews worked Monday to clear dry vegetation that could ignite from a lightning strike and cause fast-spreading fires, Abbott said.
In Cameron, Louisiana, the winds had picked up and rain was coming through on and off Tuesday morning, said Connor Salvador, who owns an RV park there near the coast. “Nothing too crazy yet,” he said.
He said while there could be a “little bit” of flooding if they get a lot of rain, he wasn't too worried about Edouard.
“We’re pretty used to all these types of storms that come through,” he said.
Newly formed Hurricane Lowell in the Pacific Ocean was centered about 575 miles (925 kilometers) southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, on Tuesday morning. The storm’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 80 mph (130 kph). Forecasters said the hurricane was expected to remain several hundred miles away from Hawaii for the next several days at least, but swells from Lowell were likely to impact parts of the islands beginning Wednesday.
“This hurricane is likely to increase the surf and make for dangerous beach conditions and marine conditions for any boaters near the Hawaiian islands over the next few days,” said Andrew Hagan, a forecaster with the National Hurricane Center.
Tropical Storm Marie formed in the Pacific Ocean early Tuesday well offshore of southwest Mexico and wasn’t threatening land, the center said. The storm was about 400 miles (643 kilometers) southwest of Manzanillo with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) and was moving northwest. Forecasters said Marie was gradually strengthening and was expected to become a hurricane by Wednesday night.
Elsewhere in the Pacific, Karina became a hurricane Sunday, fueled by warm waters far from any shore. It strengthened Monday into a powerful Category 4 storm but forecasters said Tuesday that it was expected to weaken. Forecasters said the storm centered 1,280 miles (2,059 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico carried maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (222 kph) but wasn't threatening land.
Meanwhile, the remnants of Tropical Storm Dolly brought rain and thunderstorms to parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the Turks & Caicos, and the Bahamas, the hurricane center said.
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The story has been updated to correct that Dolly was a tropical storm, not a hurricane. ___
Associated Press journalist Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.
