HOUSTON - Tropical Storm Edouard moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico on Monday, threatening to come ashore on the Texas-Louisiana coast at near-hurricane strength.
|
©REUTERS/NOAA/Handout
|
Tropical Storm Edouard formed near a major oil and gas producing area of the northern Gulf of Mexico August 3, 2008.
|
Edouard, the fifth tropical storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its 7 a.m. report.
The storm, which formed near a major oil- and gas-producing area of the northern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, was about 80 miles south-southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and 285 miles east-southeast of Galveston, Texas.
It was moving west at about 8 mph (13 kmh) and forecasters said it could bring as much as 6 inches of rain.
The Hurricane Center said Edouard was expected to gain strength and could be near the 74-mph (119-kph) threshold for hurricane status when it neared land by Tuesday morning.