The storm was upgraded Monday night from a tropical depression and forecasters expected it to make landfall in Texas later on Tuesday. After making landfall, the storm is expected to rapidly weaken.
Tuesday morning, the storm was about 40 miles south-southeast of Cameron, Louisiana, and 70 miles east-southeast of Port Arthur, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph while moving west-northwest at 8 mph.
Tropical storm warnings, hurricane watches, storm surge warnings and flood watches were issued for the western Gulf Coast. The hurricane center said Edouard was expected to dump 3 to 6 inches of rain along the Texas coast through east-central Texas, but some areas could see up to 9 inches. Southwestern Louisiana was expected to see lesser amounts.
Flash flooding was likely in low-lying and urban areas, the hurricane center said.
Storm heads toward Texas and Louisiana
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.
A storm surge of 3 to 5 feet was possible along a stretch of coastline around the Texas-Louisiana border, the hurricane center said.
