Tropical Storm Hanna was upgraded to a hurricane Saturday, moving toward the Texas coast and threatening to bring heavy rain, storm surge and possible tornadoes. Hanna is now the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Maximum sustained winds increased to 75 mph, the hurricane center said in a Saturday morning update. The storm was centered about 100 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas and was moving west at 9 mph.
A storm surge warning in effect from Baffin Bay to Sargent was extended south of the bay to Port Mansfield, Texas. Storm surge up to 5 feet was forecast for that area. People were advised to protect life and property from high water.
Tornadoes are also possible Saturday for parts of the lower to middle Texas coastal plain, forecasters said. A hurricane warning remained in effect for Port Mansfield to Mesquite Bay, and a tropical storm warning was still in effect from Barra el Mezquital, Mexico, to Port Mansfield, Texas, and from Mesquite Bay to High Island, Texas.
Hurricane #Hanna Advisory 10A: Noaa Hurricane Hunters and Doppler Weather Radars Find Hanna Has Become the First Hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season. https://t.co/VqHn0u1vgc
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 25, 2020
Forecasters said Hanna could bring 6 to 12 inches of rain through Sunday night, with isolated totals of 18 inches, in addition to coastal swells that could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Hanna is one of three major storms Saturday morning.
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Tropical Storm Gonzalo
Tropical Storm Gonzalo, meanwhile, is approaching the Caribbean. It is on track to move across the southern Windward Islands on Saturday afternoon or evening. Gonzalo was moving west near 18 mph with maximum sustained winds at 40 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
Gonzalo is forecast to bring 1 to 3 inches of rain, with isolated totals of 5 inches. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Tobago and Grenada and its dependencies. The storm was expected to dissipate by Sunday night or Monday, forecasters said.
Hurricane #Hanna Advisory 10A: Noaa Hurricane Hunters and Doppler Weather Radars Find Hanna Has Become the First Hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season. https://t.co/VqHn0u1vgc
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 25, 2020
Gonzalo and Hanna broke the record for the earliest seventh and eighth Atlantic named storms, respectively, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. The previous records were Gert on July 24, 2005, and Harvey on Aug. 3, 2005, Klotzbach said.
Hurricane Douglas
In the Pacific, Hurricane Douglas was packing winds of 110 mph early Saturday as it approached Hawaii. The National Hurricane Center said hurricane conditions are possible across parts of the main Hawaiian Islands late Saturday night through Monday.
CBS News meteorologist and climate specialist Jeff Berardelli said Douglas will likely pass just north of the Big Island of Hawaii on Saturday and possibly make landfall Sunday as a hurricane or tropical storm on Maui. Watch for heavy rain, flash flooding and winds gusting over 75 mph. If it does make landfall at hurricane strength, it would only be the third time in record-keeping history that Hawaii has seen a landfalling hurricane.
On Friday night, Hawaii Governor David Ige announced a “pre-landfall emergency proclamation.”
“Our top priority is always the safety, health and well-being of our residents and visitors,” he said in a statement. “Please take immediate steps to protect your families, loved ones, employees and property. We ask everyone to closely follow emergency instructions as we prepare for Hurricane Douglas.”