Tropical Storm Imelda weakened to become a tropical depression, but it could still bring the greater amount of rain it has seen in a storm since Hurricane Harvey since Wednesday, which increases the prospects of heavy flooding in a city that commonly faces them.
Imelda formed over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday afternoon and made landfall near Freeport, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm throws rain over southeastern Texas and is expected to continue to do so for a couple of days as it moves inland.
“Many of the forecast models suggest 6 to 25.4 centimeters of rain with higher amounts isolated across the region,” said CNN meteorologist Judson Jones. “If the forecast is met, the amount of rain that will fall would be the highest since Hurricane Harvey in 2017.”
Imelda had maximum sustained winds of 64.3 kilometers per hour on Tuesday night, the National Hurricane Center said in a warning. A tropical storm alert was in effect along the Texas coast from Sargent to Port Bolivar, the center said.
A flash flood alert that covers more than 7 million people and includes Houston and Galveston is also in effect and is likely to extend until Thursday.
“The rain will be in the area for the next few days and could cause some flooding. Be careful driving and pay attention to weather reports, said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in a Twitter post. “Keep alert!”
Several schools and universities in the Houston and Galveston area announced that they will cancel activities on Wednesday. Among them were the Galveston Independent School District, the Houston Independent School District and the Texas A&M University in Galveston.
Even before Imelda became a tropical storm, it was a system that was bringing rain to the Texas coast. By Tuesday night, up to 12.7 centimeters of rain had fallen in some areas southeast of Houston, according to the Harris County Flood Warning System. Most areas of Houston received up to 6 centimeters of rain.
The storm system is expected to soak the coast of Texas and southwest Louisiana until Wednesday, and eastern Texas and western Louisiana on Thursday, the hurricane center said.
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