Alex to Become Hurricane as Swells Reach Gulf Spill
June 29th, 2010Via: Bloomberg:
As officials and residents in Texas braced for a strike from Tropical Storm Alex’s most ferocious side, energy companies worked to evacuate offshore rigs.
The storm, with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour, was 355 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, heading northwest at 12 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said just before 10 a.m. Houston time.
“Strengthening is forecast during the next 36 hours or so before landfall and Alex is likely to become a hurricane later today,” the advisory said.
Brownsville began giving residents sandbags last night. Texas Governor Rick Perry declared 19 counties a disaster to free up resources and activated 2,500 National Guard troops, eight helicopters and three aircraft in advance of the season’s first storm.
The current hurricane center tracks show the center of the storm passing just south of Brownsville tomorrow night, meaning the Texas city of 172,437 will be struck by the Alex’s most powerful quadrant, according to the hurricane center. Hurricane warnings have been issued from Baffin Bay in Texas to La Cruz in Mexico.
