Tropical Storm Edouard weakens but keeps flood warnings in effect across Texas

Edouard has weakened from a tropical storm to a depression, but its final bands are still drenching Texas and Louisiana and keeping flood warnings in place.

The National Hurricane Center said the system, located over southeastern Texas near the Louisiana border, would continue producing heavy rain until it moves farther from the coast and weakens completely on Thursday morning. It warned that flash flooding was possible, particularly in urban areas, and said the Piney Woods region of southeastern Texas could face potentially catastrophic flooding and overflowing rivers.

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It is possible that it could produce flash flooding, especially in urban areas.

Forecasters expect 5 to 10 inches of rain along Edouard’s path in Texas, with isolated totals reaching 20 inches. Louisiana could receive 2 to 4 inches. Although the center sits near the Texas-Louisiana border, the storm’s effects stretch north to Dallas and across much of the Louisiana coast.

Winds were running between 35 and 45 miles per hour on Wednesday. Texas authorities deployed 1,100 people and more than 1,000 pieces of equipment on Tuesday to prepare for the storm. Edouard became the Atlantic season’s fifth named storm and the second named storm to make landfall in the United States this season, after Bertha reached Louisiana on July 22 and later re-entered Texas.

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Potentially catastrophic