National News

Harvey could become a major hurricane before it makes landfall in Texas

The tropical system that was upgraded to Hurricane Harvey on Thursday afternoon has been looming around for some time now in the western Gulf of Mexico and is now expected to be a major hurricane by the time that it makes landfall somewhere around Corpus Christi, Texas, late on Friday or early on Saturday.

Posted Updated

By
Matt Briscoe
AUSTIN, TEXAS — The tropical system that was upgraded to Hurricane Harvey on Thursday afternoon has been looming around for some time now in the western Gulf of Mexico and is now expected to be a major hurricane by the time that it makes landfall somewhere around Corpus Christi, Texas, late on Friday or early on Saturday.

In addition to coastal counties, some areas in Central Texas are being placed under a tropical storm warning. Those areas include the counties of Bastrop, Fayette and Caldwell counties, which could use the rain however, the amounts that some forecasters are calling for could be devastating for the region.

Meteorologist Conley Isom says that the storm could produce as much as 15 inches of rain over parts of Texas, but the exact location is still widely unknown.

"Once Harvey moves inland on Saturday, it is still expected to stall somewhere near San Antonio", Isom says.

In the Texas Hill Country, residents will see a fine line between lots of rain and smaller amounts of rain depending on where you are located.

Isom predicts that much of the Hill Country will see somewhere between 1 to 3 inches of rain but as you go further east along Interstate 35 and beyond, flooding is a strong possibility.

Jackson county, Texas, which is located along the Texas coast near the city of Victoria has been one of the first to call for a voluntary evacuation order in their area. Jackson County has some particularly flood prone areas which has led emergency managers there to call for this move.

Officials in Jackson County have advised the public that there will be a public shelter located at the County Services building, for residents who wish to evacuated from that area. Residents are being told that the shelter will not open until sometime on Friday morning.

There have been other evacuations ordered including Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, which is situated right on the water. The University has asked that the campus be evacuated and that students and staff prepare for what will be a major event along the Texas coast.

NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft are on their way to further investigate Harvey and will likely provide further data later on today which will give forecasters a better idea on where Harvey will end up.

Texans generally wish to help each other in situations such as this, and Isom says that the best way to do that is consider donating to the American Red Cross or donating supplies to local relief organizations.

Copyright 2024 by Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.