The latest update from the National Hurricane Center at 10:00 p.m. shows Hurricane Harvey to be about 250 miles (400 kilometers) Southeast of Corpus Christie, Texas and about 245 miles (400 kilometers) South-Southeast of Port O’Connor, Texas. Harvey is packing maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph), moving to the Northwest at 10 mph (17 kph). The storm’s minimum central pressure is 973 MB, 28.74 inches.
At the same time, The Weather Channel’s hurricane expert, Dr. Rick Knabb issued a Public Service Warning. In the PSA, Dr. Knabb states: “In all these years, it’s rare that I’ve seen a hurricane threat that concerns me as much as this one does.”
CC License: Attrition, no deriv.
He also provides some safety advice for people living along the Texas coast and inland, saying, “Promise yourself that you’re not going to drive your car over a water-covered roadway or drive your car around a barricade when the road is closed. Most people who die in inland flooding die in their cars.”
Serious danger from torrential rains and flooding expected
The danger of being hit with up to three-feet of rain, the storm surge and threat of damaging flooding should not be taken lightly, folks. The seven Texas counties on the coast from Corpus Christi to the western end of Galveston Island are under mandatory evacuation orders for the tens of thousands of residents in all low-lying areas.
Four counties have been ordered to be completely evacuated, and people have been told that if they stay behind, their safety cannot be guaranteed. There is already concern because it appears that not as many people are heeding the evacuation orders as they have in previous hurricanes.
“A lot of people are taking this storm for granted thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them,” Gov. Greg Abbott told Houston television station KPRC. “Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible.”
Another danger to think about is the slow movement of Harvey as it intensifies, and it is expected to be a Category 3 when it makes landfall. But Harvey will be in no hurry to move on out, so forecasters are predicting a torrential amount of rain, and with the ground already saturated from an unusually wet start to August, this does not bode well.
Stay safe, folks and heed the evacuation orders, please.
