Tropical Storm Edouard not a hurricane

2008-08-07 04:41:10 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Weather)

Brownsville, Texas (WiredPRNews.com) — Tropical Storm Edouard seemed to weaken on Tuesday as it lumbered onto the upper coast of Texas, stalling vacations and soaking beaches but lacking the strength of a hurricane thereby proving that predictions from many forecasters were wrong. Visitors at beaches in the Galveston area, one of the prime regional tourists destinations, were forced to remain indoors while Edouard passed with steady rains and winds of 65 mph. It was downgraded to a tropical depression while it traveled past Houston. Once the wind and rains died down, hotel pools reopened and surfers started enjoying the waves churned up by Edouard.

The hotels of Galveston reported minor cancellations but most tourists continued to stay there, said the emergency management coordinator of the county, John Simsen. Edouard made landfall at around 7 am between the small coastal towns of Texas of Sabine Pass and High Island, and headed towards central Texas. The winds were clocked at nearly 74 mph which is the minimum figure for a hurricane. Edouard had been expected to leave 3-5 inches rain and 10 inches for some areas but showers were a welcome treat for some areas of east Texas which had recently suffered droughts. Gary Scheibe from the office of Homeland Security said that as long as rains do not prove to be huge gully washers, they are normally a great advantage for this area.

The low degree of the hurricane came as a relief for Texas residents and officials who were still in a phase of recovery from Hurricane Dolly two weeks back. That category 2 hurricanes landed near Brownsville disrupting tourism and causing more damages to South Padre Island. RoShelle Gaskins, the spokesperson for Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau, said that Edouard soaked the streets of Galveston but did not cause any serious damages. She said that parks and businesses have been expected to open on Wednesday.

Wired Weather Reporter

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