Tropical Storm Harold made landfall on Padre Island, Texas, on Tuesday morning, marking the first tropical storm to make landfall in the United States from the Atlantic Ocean in 2023.
Harold made landfall on the coast of Texas at around 10 a.m. CDT, with tropical storm warnings in effect for much of southern Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
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10am CDT Tuesday 22 August -- Tropical Storm #Harold has made landfall in Padre Island, Texas. Maximum sustained winds at landfall are 50 mph with higher gusts.
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 22, 2023
Latest Advisory: https://t.co/3oYCopgXlE pic.twitter.com/o1CUDQznY0
The storm made landfall as a tropical storm with 50 mph sustained winds after strengthening overnight in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service does advise that stronger gusts are possible, along with an expected 2 to 4 inches of rainfall across southern Texas, with "isolated higher amounts of 6 inches" until early Wednesday.
Harold is expected to move inland across southern Texas and northern Mexico during the next day or so as it remains on the south side of the ridge. The storm will lose its tropical storm status once sustained winds drop below 39 mph.
"Since the center of the storm has reached the coast, the window for strengthening has closed. Land interaction should cause a quick decay, and Harold is expected to become a tropical depression later today and dissipate on Wednesday," the National Weather Service said.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) announced on Tuesday that his office had deployed emergency response resources for the affected parts of the Lone Star State. The governor also advised residents to check the road conditions before driving in the storm.
The storm comes a week after forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center updated its prediction for the Atlantic hurricane season from a "near-normal" level to an "above normal" level, with increased expectations for more powerful storms.
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Harold was the first Atlantic storm this year to make landfall in the U.S., and it comes as storms in the Pacific Ocean have wreaked havoc for Hawaii and California.
Heavy winds from Hurricane Dora exacerbated wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, causing more than 100 deaths and widespread devastation, while much of Southern California was placed under a tropical storm warning over the weekend as Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall with heavy rains.