My Daily Inquirer

Gulf Coast residents began feeling the effects of Hurricane Alex's outer bands Wednesday after at least three tornadoes touched down in southern Texas, the National Weather Service said.

No injuries were immediately reported from the twisters near Brownsville, but some damage was reported, including downed trees, the weather service said.

Authorities shut the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge, which crosses to popular vacation spot South Padre Island, as a precaution ahead of the approaching Alex, which strengthened into a Category 2 storm Wednesday evening as it continued churning in the western Gulf of Mexico.

Alex was aiming its fury toward northeastern Mexico and southern Texas, and was picking up speed, the hurricane center said.

The storm, which became the first June hurricane to form on the Atlantic side of North and Central America since 1995, is expected to make landfall in a sparsely populated area of Mexico late Wednesday or early Thursday.

At 7 p.m. ET, Alex was moving west in the Gulf of Mexico at 12 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and was about 105 miles south-southeast of Brownsville and 55 miles northeast of La Pesca, Mexico.
Video: Hurricane Alex impacts Texas city
Video: Hurricane Alex hits Texas island
Video: Hurricane impact on oil ravaged Gulf
Video: Adm. Thad Allen on storm plans
Video: Hurricane warning for south Texas
RELATED TOPICS

* Hurricanes and Cyclones
* Gulf Coast Oil Spill
* Gulf of Mexico
* National Hurricane Center

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 205 miles from the center of the storm and hurricane force winds extend outward up to 70 miles, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Winds were nearing tropical storm strength along the coast of South Padre Island by midday, and a 56 mph gust was recorded by the National Weather Service.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms associated with the outer bands of Alex were affecting the entire Gulf Coast from Texas to Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. Brownsville received more than 4 inches of rain by Wednesday afternoon, the weather service said.

Coastal flood advisories have been issued for Louisiana and Mississippi. Minor coastal flooding is expected along the shore due to a prolonged strong southeasterly wind caused by the large counterclockwise circulation of the hurricane.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that the state is prepared for the storm. The State Operations Center is fully activated, he said, and Texas continues to work with federal and local authorities to track the hurricane and the BP Gulf oil disaster.

"As Hurricane Alex grows in strength and approaches landfall, Texas is ready to handle this storm and its impact," Perry said in a written statement. "My message to South Texans is to finish your preparations, stay connected to credible information sources and heed the warnings of your local officials, who are closely integrated with the state's emergency management effort that has been mobilized to prepare for Alex's impact."

President Barack Obama issued a federal emergency declaration for Texas ahead of Alex's expected arrival, the White House said Tuesday night.

A hurricane warning was issued for the Gulf Coast from Baffin Bay, Texas, to La Cruz, Mexico. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions and tropical storm-force winds are expected in the forecast area within 36 hours.

A tropical storm warning was in place along the Texas coast from Baffin Bay to Port O'Connor.

The storm continued to move away from the massive BP oil catastrophe near the Louisiana coast in the northern Gulf of Mexico, but it already was complicating cleanup efforts. The storm created 12-foot waves Tuesday and oil-skimming ships were sent to shore from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

The rough seas may force crews to replace and reorganize booms meant to deter the oil from reaching shore, reported CNN's Ed Lavandera.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said that even though Florida may dodge any problems with this storm, the Atlantic hurricane season is just beginning.

"In Florida, we've had a lot of hurricanes a number of years ago, but we handled them very well," he told CNN's Campbell Brown. "The difference and the distinction that we face now is that we have a Gulf of Mexico that's full of oil. So our hope and our prayer is that we don't have a mixture of hurricanes with oil that could potentially damage the beautiful beaches of Florida. But if we do, we're prepared for it."

Pat Ahumada, the mayor of Brownsville, said the city was expecting to distribute 60,000 sandbags and provide shelter for roughly 2,000 families. Utility crews were on standby to handle outages. At the same time, the state government provided 90 buses in case an evacuation is needed.

"I expect about 10 percent of residents to evacuate voluntarily, which already started yesterday," Ahumada said Tuesday. "I see a steady flow of people going out, but no bottlenecks -- which is good.

"We're not taking it lightly," he said. "We're ready for a worst-case scenario."

On Monday, the Texas governor issued a disaster proclamation for 19 counties and ordered the deployment of state resources. Perry's declaration allowed the state to initiate necessary preparedness efforts, such as putting material in place to ensure local communities are ready to respond to disasters.

The governor's order puts up to 2,500 National Guard personnel, eight UH-60 helicopters and three C-130 aircraft on standby for rapid deployment as needed, Perry's office said in a news release.

Posted by Jessie James