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© Eric Gay, The Associated PressA truck pulling an RV toward South Padre Island, Texas, passes under a sign warning of the approach of Tropical Storm Alex on Tuesday.
Tropical Storm Alex, at 7 p.m., is centered at latitude 23.2 north, longitude 94.5 west, about 215 miles east of La Pesca, Mexico, and about 265 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas.

Its maximum sustained winds are 70 mph; hurricanes have sustained winds of 74 mph or more. Satellite imagery suggests that Alex is strengthening. Rain bands associated with Alex are spreading onshore in northeastern Mexico and southern Texas.

It is moving toward the west-northwest at 12 mph, with that general motion expected to continue through Wednesday. It is expected to make landfall late Wednesday. Its minimum central pressure is 980 millibars or 28.94 inches.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the Gulf Coast from south of Baffin Bay in Texas to La Cruz, Mexico. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the coast of Texas from Baffin Bay to Port O'Connor and for the coast of Mexico south of La Cruz to Cabo Rojo.

Animation from NOAA.