Tropical Storm Don Lands in Texas
Don begins to roll onshore over South Texas, Friday, July 29, 2011.
The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center has determined that Tropical Storm Don has made landfall, near Baffin Bay, just south of Corpus Christi this evening..
Peak winds were near 50 mph with higher gusts at the time of landfall.
People should not just focus on the center of landfall.
"While the tropical storm is relatively small, clusters of heavy, gusty thunderstorms extend outward up to 100 miles," Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said.
Many Texans will likely agree with AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski that Don is just the medicine the state needs for heat and drought relief.
Needed rain will spread across the rest of South Texas tonight.
All of South Texas, parts of which the United States Drought Monitor reports are currently suffering from an extreme to exceptional drought, will welcome at least an inch of rain from Don.
Rainfall totals near and just north of where Don moves inland are forecast to equal or exceed 4 inches. While putting a dent in the drought, that amount of rain could easily trigger dangerous flash flooding.
As Sosnowski stated, "Even one life lost from flash flooding or rip currents is unacceptable."
The rip currents Sosnowski is referring to will increase not just along the Texas coastline today, but elsewhere along the western Gulf Coast.
Other dangers to places near and just north of Don's landfall include minor coastal flooding and damaging winds early tonight. The threat of damaging winds will ease as Don moves inland and weakens to a tropical rainstorm on Saturday.
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Daily U.S. Extremes
past 24 hours
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | 107° | Death Valley, CA |
| Low | 28° | Daniel, WY |
| Precip | 3.25" | Buffalo, MN |
WeatherWhys®
People need to pay close attention to the UV index during this time of year. On a sunny day late in the spring and into the summer, the UV is usually at least an 8, which is very high. Readings over 11 are considered extreme values in which only 10 minutes of full exposure to the sun will produce a sunburn.
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