Tropical Storm Nicholas slows, dumps rain along Gulf Coast
Tropical Storm Nicholas may turn into a hurricane.[NOAA]
SURFSIDE BEACH, Texas (AP) – Tropical Storm Nicholas slowed to a crawl over southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana after blowing ashore as a hurricane, knocking out power to a half-million homes and businesses.
The National Hurricane Center says the storm made landfall on the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula early Tuesday and was soon downgraded to a tropical storm. It’s drenching storm-battered Louisiana and bringing the potential for life-threatening flash floods across the Deep South.
The storm has dumped more than a foot of rain along the same area swamped by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, but that’s a fraction of what fell during Harvey.
On Monday, Tropical Storm Nicholas gathered strength, threatening to blow ashore in Texas as a hurricane. Nearly all of the state’s coastline was under a tropical storm warning that included potential flash floods and urban flooding.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says authorities placed rescue teams and resources in the Houston area and along the coast.