Tropical Storm Arthur made landfall along the Texas coast on Wednesday just hours after it became the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Heavy rain from the rapidly weakening storm could cause life-threatening flash flooding throughout the Southeast this week, meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center said.
A flood watch stretched along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Georgia on Wednesday as forecasters warned that the storm system, which has been churning along the coastline for days, could drop up to a foot of rain by the end of the week.
Arthur is the first named storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, which the National Hurricane Center said last month could be quieter than usual. The storm had organized quickly over a couple of hours early Wednesday morning, and a hurricane hunter plane sent into the storm found that its winds had reached tropical storm-force, though they will remain mostly offshore. Hours later it had moved ashore.
Forecasters said that flooding rains will continue across the Southeast this week, with widespread rainfall totals reaching up to 5 to 10 inches across the region and in some places nearly 20 inches through early Friday from the Texas coast all the way through Georgia.
Parts of Texas have already been inundated with heavy rain and flash flood warnings all week. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas issued a disaster declaration on Monday evening for 101 counties in the state, citing the risk from the storms and possible flooding.
A 15-year-old drowned in a flooded retention pond on Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s office in Montgomery County, Texas. The teen, who was playing with a group near a construction roadway, entered the pond, and “the depth of the water quickly exceeded the juvenile’s height,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
“This incident serves as a solemn reminder of the dangers associated with floodwaters, particularly following periods of heavy rainfall,” the sheriff’s office said. “Even areas that appear shallow or calm can present serious and life-threatening hazards.”
On Wednesday, Houston was set to host its second World Cup match, between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The threat of heavy rain was not a cause of concern for the match at the covered NRG Stadium, temporarily renamed Houston Stadium for the tournament.
But ahead of the match, organizers shortened hours for the city’s fan festival, where many have been gathering to watch matches. The city’s World Cup organizing committee said that the festival would open in the evening on Tuesday instead of earlier in the day. The shortened festivities on Tuesday could change further if severe weather made it unsafe for fans in the evening, organizers said. The fan festival was closed on Monday as heavy rain made its way through the area.
Judge Lina Hidalgo of Harris County, the top elected official in the Houston area, said that the county’s office of homeland security and emergency management was monitoring the threat of flooding.
“As those of us who live here know, Houston in the summer naturally brings tropical weather,” Judge Hidalgo said. “Our streets are designed to flood to convey water to the channels that then empty out into the ocean.”
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