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Alex is first June hurricane since 1955
MIAMI, (UPI) -- Alex Tuesday became the first hurricane of the 2010 season and the first June hurricane since 1955, forecasters in Miami said.
At 11 p.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center said the storm was about 195 miles east-southeast of La Pesca, Mexico, and about 255 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and was moving toward the west at 9 mph with top sustained winds of 75 mph.
A hurricane warning was in effect for the coasts of Texas and Mexico from south of Baffin Bay to La Cruz. A tropical storm warning was posted along the Texas coast from Baffin Bay to Port O'Connor and along the Mexican coast south of La Cruz to Cabo Rojo.
Alex was expected to move west-northwestward during the next 24 to 48 hours. On its current track, it will approach the northeastern Mexico coast and southern Texas Wednesday, and make landfall in the hurricane warning area late Wednesday or Wednesday night.
Alex was a Category 1 hurricane late Tuesday but was expected to strengthen before making landfall and then weaken after its center reaches the coastline, forecasters said.
The storm is expected to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain to the affected regions of Texas and Mexico, with 20 inches possible in some spots -- possibly causing life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, particularly in mountainous areas. A coastal storm surge of 3 to 5 feet along the coast is predicted, the center said.
Isolated tornadoes could develop Wednesday in areas of extreme southern Texas.
President Barack Obama Tuesday declared an emergency exists in Texas, and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in response to the storm, the White House said in a statement posted online. The declaration was retroactive to Sunday.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are authorized to coordinate "all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population," the statement said.
MIAMI, (UPI) -- Alex Tuesday became the first hurricane of the 2010 season and the first June hurricane since 1955, forecasters in Miami said.
At 11 p.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center said the storm was about 195 miles east-southeast of La Pesca, Mexico, and about 255 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and was moving toward the west at 9 mph with top sustained winds of 75 mph.
A hurricane warning was in effect for the coasts of Texas and Mexico from south of Baffin Bay to La Cruz. A tropical storm warning was posted along the Texas coast from Baffin Bay to Port O'Connor and along the Mexican coast south of La Cruz to Cabo Rojo.
Alex was expected to move west-northwestward during the next 24 to 48 hours. On its current track, it will approach the northeastern Mexico coast and southern Texas Wednesday, and make landfall in the hurricane warning area late Wednesday or Wednesday night.
Alex was a Category 1 hurricane late Tuesday but was expected to strengthen before making landfall and then weaken after its center reaches the coastline, forecasters said.
The storm is expected to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain to the affected regions of Texas and Mexico, with 20 inches possible in some spots -- possibly causing life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, particularly in mountainous areas. A coastal storm surge of 3 to 5 feet along the coast is predicted, the center said.
Isolated tornadoes could develop Wednesday in areas of extreme southern Texas.
President Barack Obama Tuesday declared an emergency exists in Texas, and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in response to the storm, the White House said in a statement posted online. The declaration was retroactive to Sunday.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are authorized to coordinate "all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population," the statement said.
