Tropical Storm Conditions?
It’s a bizarre headline in the middle of winter, but the National Weather Service is warning residents along the Texas coast from Port Aransas to Port Arthur to stay off the beaches through Tuesday.
A storm system will bring intense tropical storm winds ashore with gusts of over 80 km/h throughout the day on Tuesday. This has prompted the Houston National Weather Service to issue a Beach Hazard Statement for the Galveston/Crystal Beach area.
This means dangerous currents, tides 2 to 5 feet above normal and even sneaker waves are all possible. In case you are wondering, these types of waves are rogue, powerful waves that can crash onto the beach unexpectedly and carry people out to sea.
As if that wasn’t enough
The Storm Prediction Center is also warning residents along the mid-to-upper Texas coast and along the Louisiana coast to brace for the high likelihood of severe weather.
EF2 or stronger tornadoes (111+ mph) are possible across much of the Gulf Coast region.
In fact, wind gusts in excess of 50 mph are possible in much of the southern half of Louisiana. A forecast model shows wind gusts of nearly 70 miles per hour between Lafayette and Alexandria.
What awaits the Pineywoods?
Basically a lot of rain and wind. Two to three inches of rain could fall from the storms sweeping our area Tuesday. Winds can get up to 35 km/h. That’s a bit short of what the winds will be along the coast, but I’d avoid parking under trees.
A few storms could get violent, but the likelihood is higher south of Lufkin and Nacogdoches.
As always, download our station app to get weather alerts instantly on your smartphone.
Damage from Hurricane Ike
A look back at the damage along Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula from Hurricane Ike. The storm was a Category 2 hurricane that caused over $30 billion in damage. All images are from Getty Images.
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