State College, Pa. – AccuWeather.com reports conditions
will continue deteriorating in Brownsville and across deep South Texas
through tonight as Hurricane Alex draws closer to the northeastern
Mexican coast. Flooding rain is still the biggest concern for the
region.
The
hurricane is expected to make landfall as a Category 2 storm north of
La Pesca, Mexico late tonight (between 2 and 4 a.m. CDT Thursday). Alex
will weaken rapidly as it moves inland through northeastern Mexico
Thursday but continue to produce torrential rainfall into South Texas.
Over
2 inches of rain already inundated Brownsville Wednesday morning, and
rainfall totals will continue to climb through Thursday with
life-threatening flooding ensuing. AccuWeather.com experts are still
forecasting 4 to 8 inches of rain across the Rio Grande Valley with
local amounts up to a foot.
If Alex slows or stalls, these rainfall totals could double.
The
good news for deep South Texas, however, is that Alex is tracking a bit
farther south than what was expected Tuesday and will not move as close
to the Rio Grande Valley as previously thought. Because the track
is farther south, winds and the storm surge will not be as substantial
in South Texas as they will be in Mexico.
As
of 10 a.m. CDT, the storm’s center was located approximately 190 miles
southeast of Brownsville with motion was to the northwest at 7 mph.
Maximum sustained winds remained at 80 mph, making it a Category 1
hurricane.
Hurricane-force
winds are very consolidated around the storm’s center, only extending
approximately 25 miles outward. With Alex making landfall about 150
miles south of Brownsville, these hurricane-force winds will stay well
south of the Rio Grande Valley.
Tropical
storm-force winds, however, are extending about 200 miles out from the
storm’s center and will affect areas about as far north as Baffin Bay,
Texas late this afternoon into tonight. Wind gusts up to 60 mph will
lash Brownsville, while gusts up to 70 mph potentially affect areas
farther east along the coast.
Winds
of this magnitude will be capable of downing trees and power lines,
perhaps onto homes, vehicles and other objects. Power outages can
result. Any brief tornadoes that are spawned by the storm’s squall
lines could cause more serious damage but over a small area.
The
storm surge along the extreme southern Texas coast will be no higher
than 3 feet tonight. Seas will remain extremely rough across the
western Gulf of Mexico, however, and could cause coastal flooding at
any point along the Texas coast. Coastal flooding could even impact
portions of the Louisiana coast.
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