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MIAMI (AP) – Tropical Storm Nicholas moved up the Gulf Coast on Monday, threatening to bring heavy rain and flooding to storm-devastated coastal areas of Texas, Mexico and Louisiana.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Nicholas was strengthening, producing peak winds of 60 mph (95 km / h). It was moving north-northwest at 14 mph (22 km / h) on a track predicted to pass near the south Texas coast later Monday, then move toward the coast along the south or central coast. from Texas Monday night.
Nicholas was centered about 75 kilometers southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande River and 325 kilometers south of Port O’Connor, Texas on Monday morning.
A hurricane watch was issued from Port Aransas to Freeport, Texas. Much of the state’s coastline was under tropical storm warning as the system was expected to bring heavy rains that could cause flash floods and urban flooding.
Total precipitation of up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) in Texas and southwest Louisiana was expected, with isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches (50 centimeters) over parts of the Texas coast on Sunday evening in the middle of the week.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state has placed rescue teams and resources in the Houston area and along the Texas Gulf Coast.
“This is a storm that could leave heavy rains, as well as wind and possibly flooding, in different parts of the Gulf Coast. We urge you to listen to local weather warnings, heed local warnings, ”Abbot said in a video message.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency on Sunday evening ahead of the storm’s arrival in a state still recovering from last year’s Hurricane Ida and Hurricane Laura and historic flooding.
“The most serious threat to Louisiana is in the southwestern part of the state, where recovery from Hurricane Laura and the May flooding continues. In this area, heavy rains and flash floods are possible. However, it is also likely that all of southern Louisiana will experience heavy rain this week, including areas recently affected by Hurricane Ida, ”Edwards said.
The storm was expected to bring the heaviest precipitation west of where Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana two weeks ago. Although forecasters didn’t expect Louisiana to suffer from strong winds again, meteorologist Bob Henson of Yale Climate Connections predicted that precipitation could still affect places where the hurricane knocked down homes, crippled them. electrical and hydraulic infrastructure and killed at least 26 people.
“There could be several inches of rain in southeast Louisiana, where Ida struck,” Henson said in an email.
Across Louisiana, just over 110,000 customers went without power as of Monday morning, according to utility tracking site poweroutage.us.
The storm is expected to move slowly along the coast, which could dump torrential rains over several days, said meteorologist Donald Jones of the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
“Heavy rains and flash floods seem to be the biggest threat in our region,” he said.
While Charles Lake received minimal impact from Ida, the city saw several hits from Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Delta in 2020, a winter storm in February, as well as historic flooding this spring.
“We are still a very battered town,” said Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter.
He said the city is taking the threat of the storm seriously, as is the case with all tropical systems.
“Hope and prayer are not a good game plan,” Hunter said.
In Cameron Parish on the Louisiana coast, Scott Trahan is still finishing repairs to his home damaged by Hurricane Laura last year which put about 2 feet of water in his home. He hopes to be done by Christmas. He said many in his area have moved instead of rebuilding.
“If you get your butt flogged about four times, you’re not going to get up.” You’re going to go somewhere else, ”Trahan said.
Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said via Twitter that Nicholas is the 14th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season 2021. Only 4 more years since 1966 have had 14 or more named storms in the Atlantic. September 12: 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2020.
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