Tropical Storm Edouard is strengthening as it closes in on the Texas-Louisiana coast, and the flood threat may reach far beyond the storm’s small core.

At 10:00 a.m. CDT Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center placed Edouard about 30 miles south of Cameron, Louisiana, and 50 miles southeast of Port Arthur, Texas. Maximum sustained winds had climbed to 50 mph as the storm moved northwest at 8 mph.

Hurricane Hunters found the pressure falling and the inner core becoming better organized. Forecasters warned that more strengthening was possible before landfall Tuesday afternoon, with hurricane conditions still possible in gusts from High Island, Texas, to Cameron.

The NHC’s early-morning key-messages graphic laid out the core dangers before Edouard strengthened further.

Edouard is compact, with tropical-storm-force winds extending only about 25 miles from its center. That does not make the storm harmless.

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The heaviest tropical bands can hammer a narrow corridor with rain faster than streets, ditches and drainage systems can carry it away. The danger becomes especially serious when those bands stall over urban or low-lying communities.

National Hurricane Center forecasters expect 3 to 6 inches of rain across parts of the Upper Texas Coast and inland through east-central Texas, with isolated totals up to 9 inches. Far southwest Louisiana could receive 2 to 4 inches.

The agency said flash flooding is likely, particularly in urban and low-lying areas, while river flooding is also possible. A tornado or two could develop Tuesday afternoon and evening over southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

The storm surge warning runs from High Island to the Vermilion-Cameron Parish line. Water could rise 3 to 5 feet above ground near the immediate coast if the peak surge lines up with high tide.

NWS Houston stressed that heavy rain is the main threat for most residents even though the strongest winds will remain concentrated near Edouard’s center.

Weather Prediction Center placed the Upper Texas Coast and far southwest Louisiana in a Slight Risk for excessive rainfall. Its forecasters described a narrow tropical-moisture corridor capable of producing repeated heavy downpours near and northeast of Edouard’s track.

WPC warned that hourly rainfall rates could reach 1 to 2 inches, with isolated bursts above 2 inches. Tropical moisture values above 2.25 inches and stronger convergence along the coast could help the storm’s bands organize as Edouard moves ashore.

The center’s early Tuesday discussion said the compact system could focus the heaviest rain in a tight strip rather than spread it evenly across the region. Flash flooding becomes possible if those intense bands overlap urban areas, poor drainage or the same communities for several hours.

Even communities outside the landfall point need to watch how those bands move inland Tuesday and Tuesday night. The Slight Risk is not a promise that every location will flood; it identifies a corridor where scattered flash flooding is possible and a few places could be hit much harder than nearby towns.

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The Flood Watch also expanded farther inland as the forecast sharpened, adding more counties along and west of the expected rain corridor.

Texas officials moved into round-the-clock operations before the storm arrived.

Office of the Texas Governor said Governor Greg Abbott ordered members of the Texas Emergency Management Council to report to the State Operations Center for 24-hour operations. Transportation crews, swift-water resources, public-safety agencies, the Texas National Guard, health teams, utilities and relief organizations were among those placed on alert.

The state response also includes road-condition monitoring, power-restoration coordination, shelter support and search-and-rescue capability. Abbott said the resources were being readied before impacts arrived so local officials could request help quickly as conditions changed.

Abbott urged Texans to gather food, water and fuel, keep emergency alerts on, stay away from rising water and follow local officials. Those are practical steps that can keep a dangerous weather event from becoming a preventable tragedy, especially when heavy rain arrives faster than roads can drain.

Texas Division of Emergency Management has assembled current road, shelter, flood-safety and damage-reporting resources for affected residents. Texans who sustain damage can use the state’s iSTAT system to report impacts to homes, businesses and agricultural property.

The page directs drivers to DriveTexas for road conditions, sends families to TexasReady and federal flood-safety guidance, and points anyone needing shelter information to 2-1-1 or the state shelter directory. It also links residents to utility, health, insurance, livestock and local-emergency resources that may become important after the storm passes.

Damage reports submitted through iSTAT help emergency managers build an early picture of losses, but the survey is not a request for immediate emergency help. Anyone facing an immediate threat should call 9-1-1 and follow evacuation or shelter instructions from local authorities.

Edouard should weaken quickly after moving inland, but the rain threat will not disappear the moment the center crosses the coast. Drivers should never go around barricades or attempt to cross a flooded road, and families in the warned area should keep alerts on through Wednesday.

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Turn around, don’t drown. With tropical rain already moving ashore, that simple rule may be the most important one Texans follow all day.

 

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