NewzPORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) — The former Tropical Storm Edouard weakened into a depression but dumped nearly 2 feet of rain in some places, flooded roads and knocked down trees Wednesday in parts of Texas as it slowly moved north.Schools and municipal offices were closed, residents were told to stay home and a news station captured a water rescue of a family. Some areas northwest of Beaumont, where the center of the storm passed Tuesday, received between 10 inches (25 centimeters) and 21 inches (53 centimeters) of rain in a matter of hours, the National Weather Service and emergency officials said.The storm was downgraded Tuesday night, hours after making landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. The system weakened as it moved inland but still produced heavy rain and some flooding Wednesday.
It was expected to break up by the evening.The center of Edouard passed over Beaumont in Jefferson County, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Houston.By Wednesday, the main concern was restoring power after trees and limbs were brought down during the storm, with wind gusts up to 90 mph (144 kph), said Robert Grimm, the county emergency management coordinator. About 30,000 customers were without power as of Wednesday morning, a big chunk of the more than 70,000 utility customers affected statewide, according to poweroutage.com.Meanwhile, a burst of tropical weather persisted in the Pacific Ocean, where two hurricanes and a tropical storm likely to develop into a hurricane were churning in open waters.Edouard downs trees, floods roads and leaves drivers strandedEdouard left a path of downed trees blocking roads, traffic signals that weren’t working and flooded underpasses, Beaumont police said in a post on social media. Some drivers were stranded in floodwaters and needed help.“Tropical weather response operations remain ongoing,” Wes Rapaport, a spokesperson for the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said in an email Wednesday morning.The storm moved north, prompting flood warnings in parts of southeast Texas and flood watches from the upper Texas coast eastward.“This is a particularly dangerous situation.
Seek higher ground now!” the weather service said in a social media post directed at rural communities in parts of Hardin and Tyler counties in southeast Texas.The … High risk days are very rare – occurring on only about 4% of days – but account for about 1 in 3 flood-related deaths and 80% of flood-related damages.The highest rainfall total officially observed so far is around 18 inches near Little Pine Island Bayou, Texas, within this high risk zone. Widespread totals of 4 to 8 inches have been recorded elsewhere across southeastern Texas and east of the Houston-Galveston proper, which largely avoided any heavy rain and flood issues.The flood threat will inch farther inland, stretching into communities of east-central Texas, southeast of Dallas-Fort Worth, through Thursday morning.
The National Weather Service is forecasting another 4 to 8 inches possible on Wednesday into early Thursday along Edouard’s path.Despite weakening to a tropical depression, Edouard maintained a coherent circulation on radar while over 100 miles inland over Texas Wednesday morning. The system was losing strength as it pushed inland but was still producing heavy rains and some flooding Wednesday. It was expected to break up by Wednesday night.Meanwhile, a burst of tropical weather continued in the Pacific Ocean, where two hurricanes and a tropical storm that was likely to develop into one were churning in open waters Wednesday.Edouard makes landfall along Texas-Louisiana line and floods some roadsAs the center of Edouard passed over Beaumont, Texas, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Houston, it left a path of downed trees blocking roads, traffic signals that weren’t working and flooded underpasses, Beaumont police said in a post on social media.
Some drivers were stranded in floodwaters and needed help.One weather station in Port Arthur, Texas, recorded a 90 mph (145 kph) wind gust Tuesday.The storm moved north early Wednesday, prompting flood warnings.“This is a particularly dangerous situation. Seek higher ground now!” the weather service said in a post affecting rural communities in parts of Hardin and Tyler counties in southeast Texas.The post said the expected rainfall rate was an inch (2.5 centimeters) to 5 inches (13 centimeters) in an hour Wednesday, in addition to what had already fallen.About 75,000 utility customers across at least eight counties were without electricity as of Wednesday morning, according to poweroutage.com.2 hurricanes and a tropical storm are in the Pacific OceanTropical Storm Marie was well offshore of southwest Mexico in the Pacific and was expected to become a hurricane Wednesday, the Miami-based hurricane center said. Swells generated by the storm were expected to affect pa…
Summary from source