Aug. 28 (UPI) — The National Hurricane Center said Monday that Tropical Storm Harvey will move offshore from the Texas coast before returning inland again.
In its 7 a.m. update Monday, the NHC said the storm was located 15 miles north-northeast of Port O’Connor — packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 40 mph and moving southeast at a speed of 3 mph.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from Mesquite Bay to High Island. If Harvey’s wind speeds drop below 40 mph, it becomes a tropical depression.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles, primarily over water to the east and northeast of the center, forecasters said.
After Harvey moves off the coast, it is projected to pass over Dallas as a depression by Friday.
A flash flood emergency warning was in effect from Port O’Connor to Sargent, Texas, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for the same area. The center said the storm surge warning means there is a danger of life-threatening conditions resulting from rising water moving inland from the coastline.
Harvey weakened into a tropical storm as it moved inland Saturday, but the NHC said it was becoming an “extremely serious flooding event.” Harvey arrived near Corpus Christi Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane. By 6 a.m. Saturday, it had weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds. By midday, it was reclassified as a tropical storm.
Harvey was the first major hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the continental United States since Hurricane Wilma hit Florida in October 2005. It was also the first hurricane to make landfall in Texas since Ike in 2008.
Last week, Harvey showed a large swirl of clouds in the Gulf of Mexico when viewed from the International Space Station, tens of thousands of miles away.
The NHC is also watching Tropical Cyclone 10, which remains stationary off the U.S. Southeast, which has maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. A tropical storm watch is in effect for parts of South Carolina and North Carolina.
The cyclone is expected to become a tropical storm Tuesday morning.
“The system is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches along the upper South Carolina, North Carolina, and southeast Virginia coasts, with possible isolated maximum amounts of 9 inches,” the NHC said in a statement. “The heavier rains may result in some flooding concerns along coastal areas.”
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