Storm Hanna moves towards Texas coast as another approaches Caribbean

Dark clouds loom over the water at JP Luby Park in Corpus Christi, Texas, on 24 July. Photograph: Annie Rice/AP

Tropical Storm Hanna was upgraded to a hurricane on Saturday, moving towards the Texas coast and threatening to bring heavy rain, storm surge and tornadoes, all while another tropical storm, Gonzalo, approached the Caribbean.

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Hanna is the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic season, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a Saturday morning update. Maximum sustained winds had increased to 75mph and the storm was centered about 100 miles east-south-east of Corpus Christi, Texas, moving west at 9mph.

A storm surge warning in effect from Baffin Bay to Sargent was extended south of the bay to Port Mansfield, Texas. Storm surge up to 5ft was forecast for that area. People were advised to protect life and property from high water.

Tornadoes were possible on Saturday for parts of the lower to middle Texas coastal plain, forecasters said. A hurricane warning remained in effect for Port Mansfield to Mesquite Bay, and a tropical storm warning was still in effect from Barra el Mezquital, Mexico, to Port Mansfield, Texas, and from Mesquite Bay to High Island, Texas.

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A handout satellite image shows Tropical Storm Hanna as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico and approaches Texas on 24 July. Photograph: NASA/EPA

Forecasters said Hanna could bring 6in to 12in of rain through Sunday night, with isolated totals of 18 inches, in addition to coastal swells that could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Tropical Storm Gonzalo was still on track to move across the southern Windward Islands on Saturday afternoon or evening. Gonzalo was moving west near 18mph with maximum sustained winds at 40mph, the NHC said.

Gonzalo is forecast to bring 1in to 3in of rain, with isolated totals of 5in. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Tobago and Grenada and its dependencies. The storm was expected to dissipate by Sunday night or Monday, forecasters said.

Gonzalo and Hanna broke the record for the earliest seventh and eighth Atlantic named storms, respectively, according to the Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. The previous records were Gert on 24 July 2005 and Harvey on 3 August 2005.

source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/25/tropical-storm-hurricane-hanna-texas-gonzalo-caribbean