MIAMI (AFP) — Tropical Storm Edouard made landfall on the upper Texas coast Tuesday, lashing the Gulf of Mexico with 65 mile per hour (100 kilometer per hour) winds and driving rains, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm made landfall at around 1200 GMT after picking up strength in the open waters overnight, but was expected to lose some of its punch as it headed inland.
Nevertheless, Edouard was expected to produce rainfall of between three and five inches (about 7.5 to 13 centimeters) in some areas of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. Rainfall totals could approach 10 inches (25 centimeters) in some areas, the Miami-based center said.
Isolated tornadoes are also possible in both states, the NHC said.
The storm early Tuesday was moving toward the west-northwest at about 14 miles (23 kilometers) per hour -- a path that it was expected to sustain over "the next day or two," the hurricane center said.
Tropical force storm winds could be felt some 70 miles (110 kilometers) from the center of the storm and tide levels in certain areas could reach between two and four feet (60 to 120 centimeters) above normal.
More than 5.4 million coastal inhabitants of both states could be affected by Edouard's winds and rain-induced flooding, especially those in the low-lying, poorer sections of Galveston Texas, said the US Census Bureau.
Oil industry operators in the area -- a crucial hub of the US petroleum industry -- said they were taking safety precautions as the storm neared.
ExxonMobil said its exploration and production facilities, as well as its Baytown refinery and chemical plants, were all operating normally.
"Currently, there is no impact to production, and no personnel have been evacuated," the company said on its website.
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