Tropical Depression 2 makes landfall

Overnight Tropical Depression 2 formed in the Gulf of Mexico and has already made landfall near the Texas Mexico border. Maximum sustained windspeed was just below the 39 MPH required for this system to reach true tropical storm status. A hurricane hunter plane did find a low level circulation and some tropical storm force gusts but these were not sufficiently sustained to classify the system as a tropical storm.

Now the issue is flooding as this storm degrades and dumps many inches of water over the already saturated land of South Texas and northern Mexico. Radar imaging (courtesy of Weather Underground) shows heavy rain falling in patches across most of Texas and a few of the northern Mexican states.


Tropical Depression Makes Landfall, Will Dissipate

The system, which is bringing rain to Texas and Mexico, is centered about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of McAllen, Texas, and has maximum sustained winds of 30 miles per hour, the hurricane center said in its last statement about the storm at 4 p.m. Houston time.

All tropical storm warnings have been discontinued, the center said, and the system will probably dissipate in 12 to 24 hours after dropping 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain over southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. Some areas may receive 10 inches.

Flood warnings and watches have been issued for most of Texas, according to the National Weather Service. The Rio Grande at Rio Grande City, about 90 miles west-northwest of Brownsville, Texas, was expected to rise above flood stage of 50 feet over the weekend.