Francine's Texas threat: Coastal flood risk grows

Tropical Storm Francine is heading for a mid-week rendezvous along the central Gulf Coast. Its outer edges could cause flooding trouble along the Texas Gulf Coast from Brownsville to Galveston.

Current forecasts have Francine making landfall as a category 1 or 2 hurricane along the central Gulf Coast, somewhere along the eastern Texas or southwestern Louisiana coastline.

The WeatherRadar shows that, as with all tropical systems, Francine’s effects extend far beyond its center. Wind-driven squalls will be possible along the length of the Texas Gulf Coast as Francine moves just offshore through Wednesday’s landfall. Onshore flow will bring storm surge and coastal flooding. Heavy rain increases the risk of flash flooding.

Texas’s upper Gulf Coast from Galveston northward will have the biggest danger from Francine. The forward speed and onshore winds from a strengthening Francine will produce increasing storm surge that will trigger significant coastal flooding and battering waves.

On top of the surge, up to a foot of rain will be possible inland, bringing the risk of flash flooding to many of the low-lying areas across eastern Texas.

Weather & Radar meteorologists will be providing updates throughout the next several days, and our weather reporter Jonathan Petramala, will be providing video updates from the Gulf Coast.