Edouard hits Texas coast with strong wind, rain

Tropical Storm Edouard hit the upper Texas coast early on Tuesday, bringing driving rains and winds near 65 mph U.S. forecasters said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm made landfall over a stretch of coast east of Galveston and west of the Louisiana border, between the small coastal town of High Island and Sabine Pass. Though forecasters had feared it could become a hurricane, its sustained winds only reached 65 mph, short of hurricane strength at 74 mph.

The storm is expected to weaken later in the day as it moves west-northwest over Texas.

Edouard skirted the Louisiana coast, making for a blustery day in New Orleans but otherwise causing no problems in the hurricane-weary city. The storm raised tides along the coast, pushing water into bayous and some low-lying yards in the Terrebonne Parish communities of Dulac and Chauvin. Terrebonne emergency
preparedness director Jerry Richard said only minor damage was reported and no homes were flooded.