Tropical Storm Edouard Heads for Texas/Louisiana Coast

A swiftly developing Tropical Storm Edouard is expected to make landfall very near the upper Texas coast or the coast of southwestern Louisiana by Tuesday, Aug. 5, the National Hurricane Center reported.

As of Monday morning, Edouard had sustained winds of near 50 mph and the Hurricane Center expects the storm to increase in strength, possibly gaining hurricane status by the time it hits the coast.

Edouard comes on the heels of Hurricane Dolly that crashed into south Texas on July 23 causing severe wind and water damage.

Edouard could hit the upper Texas coast where Hurricane Humberto made landfall last year and Hurricane Rita struck back in 2005, forecasters say. Edouard is expected to produce total rain accumulations of two to four inches along portions of the Louisiana coastal counties into southeastern Texas. Isolated maximum amounts of six inches are possible over southeastern Texas.

Isolated tornadoes are possible over portions of southern Louisiana and the upper Texas coast later, the Hurricane Center said.

Texas coastal residents will still be able to purchase windstorm insurance today from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) if Edouard fails to reach hurricane status by midnight tonight, the Insurance Council of Texas reported. This policy is different from most insurers who no longer sell windstorm coverage once a tropical storm or hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico.

Sources: Insurance Council of Texas, www.insurancecouncil.org; National Hurricane Center, www.nhc.noaa.gov/