HOUSTON (AP) – Tropical Storm Nicholas slowed to creep through the Houston area Tuesday after hitting land before like a hurricane, destroying power to half a million homes and businesses and spilling more than 30, 5 inches of rain along the same area flooded by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Nicholas could stagnate over Louisiana, attacked by the storm and could cause life-threatening flooding across the southern hemisphere over the next few days, forecasts added.
Nicholas hit land on Tuesday in the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula and was soon downgraded to a tropical storm. It was located about 15 miles southeast of Houston, Texas, with maximum winds of 45 mph (75 km / h) as of 10 a.m. Tuesday (CDT) on Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Galveston saw about 35 inches of rain from Nicholas, the 14th so-called storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, while Houston reported more than 15 inches of rain. That’s a fraction of what fell during Harvey, which threw more than 60 inches (152 centimeters) of rain in southeast Texas over a four-day period.
Nicholas is moving so slowly that it will throw a few inches of rain as it crawls across Texas and southern Louisiana, meteorologists said. This includes areas already affected by Hurricane Ida and devastated last year by Hurricane Laura. Some parts of Louisiana are saturated with nowhere for extra water, so it will flood, said Brian McNoldy, a University of Miami hurricane researcher.
“He’s stuck in a weak leadership environment,” McNoldy said Tuesday. Thus, although the storm itself may weaken, “this will not prevent rain from passing. Whether it’s a tropical storm, a tropical depression or a post-tropical bubble, it will still rain a lot and that’s not really good for this area. “
The storm was moving north-northeast at 6 mph (9 km / h) and Nicholas Center was expected to move slowly over southeast Texas on Tuesday and southwest Louisiana on Wednesday. .
Nicholas, which is expected to weaken into a tropical depression on Tuesday night, could pour up to 51 inches of rain in some parts of southern Louisiana. Meteorologists said southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and western Florida Panhandle could also see heavy rainfall.
Much of the Texas coast was under a tropical storm warning that included potential flooding and urban flooding. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said authorities placed rescue equipment and resources in the Houston area and along the coast.
In Houston, officials were concerned that heavy rains could flood streets and flood homes. Authorities deployed high-water rescue vehicles across the city and erected barricades at more than 40 sites that tend to flood, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday.
“This city is very resilient. We know what to do. We know how to prepare, ”said Turner, referring to four major floods that have affected the Houston area. in recent years, including Harvey’s devastating damage.
Meteorologist Kent Prochazka of the National Weather Service told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Nicholas winds knocked down trees in coastal counties and caused some gas stations to lose awnings.
“Just before it hit the ground, it suddenly intensified into a hurricane and as it moved inland, the pressures began to increase with it. The winds have relaxed slightly and we are now down to the force of tropical storms (winds), ”he said.
More than 500,000 homes and businesses were without electricity in Texas by mid-Tuesday, according to the poweroutage.us website, which tracks utility reports.
Numerous school districts on the Texas Gulf Coast canceled classes Monday and Tuesday due to the storm. The weather threat also closed several COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites in the Houston and Corpus Christi areas and forced the cancellation of a Harry Styles concert scheduled for Monday evening in Houston.
Depending on the weather service, a tornado or two may be possible Tuesday off the high coast of Texas and southwestern Louisiana.
Nicholas brought rain to the same area of Texas that was hit hard by Harvey, who was blamed for at least 68 deaths, including 36 in the Houston area. After Harvey, voters approved the issuance of $ 2.5 billion in bonds to fund flood control projects, including the expansion of bayous. The 181 projects designed to mitigate the damage caused by future storms are in different stages of completion.
McNoldy, the hurricane researcher, said Nicholas carries much less rain than Harvey.
“The rains are not crazy. It’s not something like Hurricane Harvey with rainy feet, “McNoldy said. Harvey not only stopped for three days in the same area, but went back a bit to the Gulf of Mexico, which allowing it to recharge with more water.Nicholas won’t, McNoldy said.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Sunday night, before the storm hit a state.
On Monday, Misty Tran feared the idea of Nicholas coming east to his home south of New Orleans in Empire, Louisiana. Ida damaged the roof of Tran’s mobile home. A tarp covers the roof now, Tran said, but it wouldn’t be a match for an even weak storm.
“A canvas can only do so much,” Tran said, helping clean up a marina where he works.
The storm was expected to cause the heaviest rainfall west of where Ida crashed into Louisiana. two weeks ago. Ida has been blamed for 86 deaths in the United States. Across Louisiana, about 95,000 customers ran out of electricity Tuesday morning, according to poweroutage.us.
Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said via Twitter that only four more years since 1966 have had 14 or more storms named on Sept. 12: 2005, 2011, 2012, and 2020.
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Associated Press writers Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas, Jay Reeves in Empire, Louisiana, Julie Walker in New York, and AP Science writer Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.
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Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70