Tropical Storm Edouard could reach hurricane strength as it approaches Texas and Louisiana

Tropical Storm Edouard – the 4th named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season – formed Monday evening about 100 miles south of the Louisiana coast, but as of daybreak Tuesday had not strengthened since its christening 12 hours earlier.Land-based radar Monday morning showed a small but organized circulation center sliding only about 30 miles south of southwestern Louisiana. Although hurricane hunters flying Edouard Tuesday morning found a steady-state circulation to start their mission, by mid-morning new data indicated Edouard had commenced strengthening in a band of stronger storms about 10 miles south of its center.With Edouard expected to move inland near the border of Texas and Louisiana early this afternoon, it has limited time left over water to intensify. While statistical intensity guidance isn’t very bullish on Edouard becoming much stronger than it currently is now, higher fidelity hurricane models like the HAFS model suggest it could make a run at rapidly strengthening before making landfall, a high-end strengthening scenario that the National Hurricane Center has followed in its notably aggressive forecast.Even if Edouard makes the most of its waning hours over water, it’s not expected to reach hurricane status before crossing the coast, and its small core will limit any threat of widespread damaging winds.

Tropical storm winds (winds of at least 39 mph) extend out only about 25 miles from Edouard’s center so any wind-related hazards will be contained near the coast at landfall.Locally heavy rainfall through WednesdayThe upshot for Edouard will be the possibility of locally heavy rain from southwestern Louisiana and the Upper Texas coast to inland east-central Texas today through Wednesday.The National Weather Service is predicting 3 to 6 inches of rain and locally up to 9 inches total from the Upper Texas Coast to parts of east-central Texas along the I-45 corridor stretching north and east of Houston.The heavy rainfall could lead to scattered flash flooding issues and may be worsened by the storm’s slow forward speed where rainbands repeatedly move over the same areas (so-called “training” resembling the movement of boxcars on a locomotive).Overall the footprint of heavy rain should be contained to a narrow swath and some places that need the rain could benefit from the soaking side of Edouard. Nevertheless, those in the path of Edouard s… MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Edouard was expected to strengthen significantly and possibly reach hurricane force Tuesday as it moved toward the Gulf Coast, where heavy rains and flooding were possible in parts of Texas and Louisiana, the National Hurricane Center warned.The storm was upgraded Monday night from a tropical depression and forecasters expected it to make landfall in Texas later on Tuesday.Tuesday morning, the storm was about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south-southeast of Cameron, Louisiana, and 70 miles (113 kilometers) east-southeast of Port Arthur, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) while moving west-northwest at 8 mph (13 kph).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 (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.Flash flooding was likely in low-lying and urban areas, the hurricane center said.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.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.In the Pacific Ocean on Monday evening, Tropical Storm Lowell was about 630 miles (1,015 kilometers) southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) while moving west at 10 mph (17 kph).

Forecasters said Lowell could rapidly intensify and become a major hurricane by Wednesday.Also in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Marie formed early Tuesday well offshore of southwest Mexico and wasn’t threatening land, the center said. The storm was about 470 miles (756 kilometers) southwest of Manzanillo with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) and was moving northwest. Marie was expected to become a hurricane in the coming days.Elsewhere in the Pacific, Karina …

Weather forecasters are warning that Tropical Storm Edouard could reach hurricane strength as it heads toward the Gulf Coast on Tuesday.