© NOAA/NNVL
Tropical Depression Harvey on Aug. 23, 2017.
It's the tropical storms you think are dead but come back to life that you need to be truly afraid of.
One such storm, Hurricane Harvey, is poised to pick up copious amounts of moisture from the bathtub warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, before making a slow-speed collision with the low-lying Texas coast this weekend.
The storm is rapidly intensifying, and is expected to be a "major" hurricane at landfall - meaning it would be a
Category 3 storm or greater. If this prediction verifies, then Harvey would be
the first major hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since 2005's Hurricane Wilma, a record long stretch.
Like the meteorological equivalent of a White Walker from
Game of Thrones, Harvey had previously been a named storm that dissipated as it crossed Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula earlier this week.
Comment: Evacuations are underway along the Texas coast as Harvey
strengthened to Category 2 this morning. FEMA is preparing for "a very significant disaster". In related news, Harvey's approach forced
shutdowns and evacuations of offshore platforms and refineries, sending gas prices up. About half of the U.S.'s refining capacity is located in the Gulf Coast.
Comment: Evacuations are underway along the Texas coast as Harvey strengthened to Category 2 this morning. FEMA is preparing for "a very significant disaster". In related news, Harvey's approach forced shutdowns and evacuations of offshore platforms and refineries, sending gas prices up. About half of the U.S.'s refining capacity is located in the Gulf Coast.