Humberto grows into hurricane, nears Texas
Pastor Dale Morgan
Humberto grows into hurricane, nears Texas*
* Story Highlights
* Storm has top winds of near 80 mph
* Humberto poised to dump more than a foot of rain over parts of
Texas, Louisiana
* Tropical Depression Eight forms in the Atlantic Ocean
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Humberto strengthened into a
Category 1 hurricane early Thursday as it swirled just off the Texas
coast, where it was expected to make landfall shortly, the National
Hurricane Center said.
A satellite image from 9 p.m. ET shows Tropical Storm Humberto over the
Texas coast.
Rain bands associated with Humberto were moving over the upper Texas
coast Wednesday evening, forecasters said.
Humberto -- a slow mover -- is primarily going to be a rainmaker, CNN
Meteorologist Chad Myers said.
"It will dump a lot of rain in one place, and it will move a little bit
and dump a lot more rain and move a little bit," Myers said.
Ahead of the storm, Texas Gov. Rick Perry activated state resources,
including 50 vehicles, 200 soldiers, six Blackhawk helicopters and two
swift-water rescue teams.
"Some areas of our state remain saturated by summer floods, and many
communities in this storm's projected path are at high risk of dangerous
flash flooding," Perry said.
At 1:15 a.m. ET, Humberto's center was about 20 miles east of Galveston,
Texas, and about 15 miles south of High Island, Texas, the National
Hurricane Center said.
It was moving north-northwest at near 8 mph (13 kmh) and was packing
maximum sustained winds of about 65 mph, with higher gusts.
A hurricane warning has been issued from east of High Island to Cameron,
Louisiana -- meaning hurricane conditions are expected within the
warning area within the next few hours.
A Category 1 hurricane has winds of 74 mph or greater. See Humberto's
projected path »
The storm is poised to dump more than a foot of rain over some
already-soggy parts of Texas and Louisiana.
"On the forecast track, the center should be crossing the upper Texas
coast within the warning area early Thursday," forecasters said.
The center of the storm turned northward rather than making landfall
near Galveston on Wednesday night, CNN Meteorologist Chad Meyers said.
That gives the storm more time over the warm Gulf waters -- meaning more
time to strengthen prior to landfall.
The storm emerged as a tropical depression late Wednesday morning. By 2
p.m. ET, the hurricane center in Miami announced Humberto had achieved
tropical storm status.
A tropical storm warning was in effect from east of Sargent, Texas, to
Intracoastal City, Louisiana. An earlier warning from Sargent westward
to Port O'Connor, Texas, was discontinued.
The warning means tropical storm conditions, including winds of at least
39 mph, are possible within 24 hours.
Forecasters predicted the storm could dump 5 to 10 inches of rain along
the already-saturated Texas and Louisiana coasts, with isolated amounts
of up to 15 inches possible. Humberto could bring storm surges of 3 to 4
feet above normal tides near and to the east of where it makes landfall.
In addition, isolated tornadoes are possible overnight in southeastern
Texas and southwestern Louisiana, the hurricane center said.
"I urge all Texans to heed the warnings of their local leaders and take
all possible precautions to stay out of dangerous situations as this
severe weather continues," Perry said.
The region has seen higher-than-normal rainfall throughout the summer,
and Tropical Storm Erin dumped about 6 inches of rain on the Houston
area after it hit near Corpus Christi in mid-August.
Flooding triggered by the heavy rain was blamed for at least one death.
Separately, the hurricane center said Tropical Depression Eight had
formed in the Atlantic Ocean and could become a tropical storm Wednesday
night or Thursday morning.
As of 11 p.m. ET, the depression's winds were near 35 mph (55 kmh), just
short of the 39 mph needed to become a tropical storm.
The center of the depression was located about 1,005 miles east of the
Lesser Antilles, and it was moving west at near 12 mph (55 kmh). If it
becomes a named storm, it will be assigned the name Ingrid.
"It has a lot of time to get bigger," Myers said.