PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) — Hurricane Lowell intensified to a Category 5 storm Wednesday in the Pacific Ocean and is expected to remain a powerful hurricane over the next several days, the National Hurricane Center said.
The center of the cyclone was located about 445 miles (715 kilometers) south of Hilo, Hawaii, and was moving west at 10 mph (17 kph). Maximum sustained winds were around 160 mph (260 kph), according to an advisory from the Miami-based
hurricane center.
Swells generated by Lowell are likely to affect portions of the Hawaiian islands beginning Wednesday, the center said.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) — The former Tropical Storm Edouard weakened into a depression but dumped nearly 2 feet of rain in some places, flooded roads and knocked down trees Wednesday in parts of Texas as it slowly moved north.
Schools and municipal offices were closed, residents were told to stay home and a news station captured a water rescue of a family. Some areas northwest of Beaumont, where the center of the storm passed Tuesday, received between 10 inches (25 centimeters) and 21 inches (53 centimeters) of rain in a matter of hours, the National Weather Service and emergency officials said.
The storm was downgraded Tuesday night, hours after making landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. The system weakened as it moved inland but still produced heavy rain and some flooding Wednesday. It was expected to break up by the evening.
The center of Edouard passed over Beaumont in Jefferson County, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Houston.
By Wednesday, the main concern was restoring power after trees and limbs were brought down during the storm, with wind gusts up to 90 mph (144 kph), said Robert Grimm, the county emergency management coordinator. About 30,000 customers were without power as of Wednesday morning, a big chunk of the more than 70,000 utility customers affected statewide, according to poweroutage.com.
Meanwhile, a burst of tropical weather persisted in the Pacific Ocean, where two hurricanes and a tropical storm likely to develop into a hurricane were churning in open waters.
Edouard left a path of downed trees blocking roads, traffic signals that weren’t working and flooded underpasses, Beaumont police said in a post on social media. Some drivers were stranded in floodwaters and needed help.
“Tropical weather response operations remain ongoing,” Wes Rapaport, a spokesperson for the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said in an email Wednesday morning.
The storm moved north, prompting flood warnings in parts of southeast Texas and flood watches from the upper Texas coast eastward.
“This is a particularly dangerous situation. Seek higher ground now!” the weather service said in a social media post directed at rural communities in parts of Hardin and Tyler counties in southeast Texas.
The post said the expected rainfall rate was an inch to 5 inches (2 1/2 centimeters to 13 centimeters) in an hour Wednesday, in addition to what had already fallen.
News station KPRC-TV recorded a water rescue of a family with young children in Livingston, in Polk County.
Residents are encouraged to report property damage to the state when it is safe to do so, Rapaport said.
In southwest Louisiana, total rainfall was expected to range from 2 inches (5 cm) to 4 inches (10 cm), the center said.
Tropical Storm Marie was well offshore of southwest Mexico in the Pacific and was expected to become a hurricane Wednesday, the Miami-based hurricane center said.
Swells generated by the storm were expected to affect parts of coastal southwestern Mexico and the Baja California peninsula over the next few days. They will likely spread to southern California over the weekend, the center said.
Hurricane Lowell, a Category 4 storm, was hundreds of miles from Hawaii but could strengthen into a Category 5 storm by Wednesday night and remain powerful through Friday. Swells generated by Lowell are likely to affect portions of the Hawaiian islands beginning Wednesday, the center said.
Regarding Marie and Lowell, swells “are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the center said.
Elsewhere in the Pacific, Karina has strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm. Some additional strengthening was expected Wednesday, but forecasters said it should weaken over the next few days.
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Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press journalists Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, Julie Walker in New York and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
