MIAMI (AP) – Tropical Storm Nicholas gained strength early Monday off the Gulf Coast and threatened to cause heavy rains and flooding along the coasts of Texas, Mexico and Louisiana, a state hit days ago by another weather phenomenon.
Nicholas increases his power and his maximum winds reach 95 kilometers per hour (60 miles per hour), experts at the National Hurricane Center said in their report at 1 a.m. Central Time.
The storm is moving north-northwest at 15 mph (24 km / h) and will approach the south coast of Texas Monday afternoon and move over the southern and central coast of the state at night, according to meteorologists.
A hurricane watch spanned Port Aransas to Freeport, Texas. Much of the state’s coastline was under a tropical storm watch as Nicholas was expected to cause heavy rains and possible flash floods as well as urban flooding.
The storms are forecast to drop 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain in Texas and southwestern Louisiana, and in some parts isolated highs will reach 50 centimeters (20 inches) in coastal parts of Texas from Sunday night to midweek. .
Texas Governor Greg Abbot said the state has deployed relief and other teams to the Houston area and the Texas Gulf Coast.
“This is a storm that could cause heavy rains, as well as winds and possible flooding in various regions on the coast that faces the gulf. We urge you to listen to the local weather warnings, to heed the local warnings, ”Abbot said in a video.
The governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, declared a state of emergency on Sunday night before the arrival of the storm because his entity was still recovering from Hurricane Ida days ago as well as Hurricane Laura and the historic floods of last year .
In various parts of Louisiana, where Ida left many dead, just over 100,000 users were still without power Monday, according to the website poweroutage.us that tracks energy service.
Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach tweeted that Nicholas is the 14th named storm in the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.
Only four other years since 1966 have accumulated at least 14 named storms as of September 12, namely 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2020.