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VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico — Hurricane watches were in effect Monday for a stretch of Gulf coast in southern Texas and northern Mexico as Tropical Storm Alex gained strength and appeared on track to become a Category 3 hurricane before it makes landfall later this week.
Forecasters said the storm's path could push oil from the massive Gulf oil spill farther inland.
I am now watching this storm very closely. 4 of the models take it up to the Houston-Galveston area, although the more reliable models have it hitting Brownsville directly. The huge question mark, which is the determining factor on which way the storm goes, it a low pressure area that is tracking across Texas at the moment, drawing the storm north towards us. If it moves fast enough, it gets out of the way, and the storm strikes well south of us. If it doesn't, I may end up enjoying my third hurricane party, after Alicia (in 1983) and Ike (just a couple of years ago).
Anyways, the National Weather Service is now saying that, if the storm hits Brownsville, it will most likely go in as a Cat 1 or 2. However, if it comes our way, it will most likely be a 3. Ike was only a 2, but it was very large. Alex isn't so big, so the damage here would most likely be a lot less than from Ike.
One additional problem - The further north from Brownsville Alex goes, the greater likelihood that all that oil in the Gulf will get stirred up, which is both good and bad. Oil will be dissipated better, but also would be pushed further inland, creating a possible nightmare scenario for the Gulf Coast. And Alex is only the first storm of a predicted busy hurricane season. My prayers are that all the storms this year stay out of the Gulf. I hope that is not too much to ask for.
At any rate, I will keep posting on this storm until it has passed. My prediction? I'll go with the majority of the models and call the hit on Brownsville, and I hope that people there, and in the Rio Grande Valley, will be OK.
Article is here.
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