Edouard brings flash flooding to Texas after becoming 3rd storm to make US landfall this year

Edouard moved ashore near Johnson Bayou, Louisiana, bringing flooding rain, storm surge and gusty winds. More than 81,000 customers in Texas were without power heading into Tuesday night.

Tropical Storm Edouard made landfall near Johnson Bayou, Louisiana, on Tuesday afternoon after intensifying as it approached the Gulf Coast, prompting flash flooding emergencies in southeastern Texas and knocking out power to thousands.

Edouard rapidly organized from a tropical rainstorm Sunday into a named storm Monday, putting coastal communities on alert for flooding and power outages. The storm strengthened in the hours leading up to landfall, with maximum sustained winds reaching 60 mph, with locally higher gusts.

Edouard became a tropical depression Tuesday night, but continued to produce torrential rain on Wednesday, prompting multiple rescues and flash flooding emergencies in Texas.

Edouard is the third tropical storm to make landfall along this part of the Gulf Coast in 2026. Arthur was the first storm of the season and made landfall near Matagorda Bay, Texas, in mid-June. One month later, Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall east of New Orleans before drifting back over the Gulf, followed by a second landfall near the border of Texas and Louisiana.

Extreme Meteorologist Dr. Reed Timmer was in Holly Beach, Louisiana, Tuesday as rough Gulf waves moved toward the coast with the storm’s center just offshore.

Timmer later reported from Beaumont, where widespread power outages and flooding were impacting Jefferson County, Texas due to Edouard's damaging winds.

Outages across southeastern Texas jumped to nearly 82,000 by nightfall on Tuesday. On Wednesday, power outages were holding at around 71,000 customers out. A preliminary 90-mph wind gust was recorded in Port Arthur, and other top gusts included 71 mph at Texas Point and 67 mph in Nederland and Beaumont.

Emergency management officials warned motorists to stay off flooded roads in Port Arthur, where AccuWeather Meteorologist Tony Laubach watched conditions deteriorate as Edouard approached.

“I always compare tropical systems to a slow burn,” Laubach said. “It takes a little while, and then once you get closer to landfall, that’s when things really ramp up in a big way.”

After landfall, conditions became dangerous in Southeast Texas.

In Taylor Landing, Texas, Laubach documented power poles and trees down as high winds caused damage across the area.

More than a dozen districts canceled Wednesday classes, including Beaumont, Port Arthur, Conroe and Willis. Port Arthur and Beaumont were assessing damage, outages and unsafe roads.

Flooding danger persists into Wednesday

A corridor of 2-8 inches of rain is forecast around Houston and the upper Texas coast through Wednesday, with 8-12 inches possible in a narrow area east of Houston.

AccuWeather’s Local StormMax™ of 20 inches was verified by Wednesday with between 10 and 21 inches of rain falling across parts of Hardin and Tyler counties.

Tropical downpours could continue to cause localized flooding. Additional tropical moisture will keep showers and thunderstorms in the forecast along the Gulf coast later this week.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott activated the Texas Division of Emergency Management for around-the-clock operations and directed state agencies to prepare to assist communities with flooding, storm damage and power outages.

ERCOT, which manages most of the state’s electrical grid, was also anticipating elevated demand because of hot weather across eastern and southeastern Texas. State emergency resources remained engaged in wildfire response operations in several other parts of Texas.

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