Hurricane Hilary ravaged the western United States, but immediately after, Hurricane Harold wreaked havoc in the southeastern part of the country.
Harold has been downgraded from hurricane status to tropical depression, but not before inflicting damages in Texas. The tropical storm made landfall on Padre Island, Texas, at around 10:00 a.m. Central Time yesterday. Harold carried winds of up to 50 mph and gusts of up to 67 mph. This storm marked the start of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.
Hurricane Harold was forecast to bring three to five inches of rainfall to Texas before eventually moving on to Mexico. However, because storms are highly unpredictable when they make landfall, the rain was estimated to be around seven inches.
As a precaution, people were told to stay away from the coastal areas of the Lone Star State since the storm will pass through, bringing in massive waves and rip currents. But the worst of the rain Harold brings is going to be in Northern Mexico, where it is forecasted to landfall tonight with up to ten inches of rain.
Aside from the rain brought by the storm, the winds have also caused the National Weather Service to issue tornado warnings in the southern part of the Lone Star state.
The storm has interrupted the power supply to homes, leaving around 23,000 homes in darkness by Tuesday afternoon.
Even with Hurricane Harold not fully finished drenching Texas, another storm looms near the Dominican Republic. It has been called “Franklin” and is expected to make landfall in the South American territories. This new trend in successive storms worries weather experts. Some say it could be an effect of climate change. The weather would really tell us if something is amiss on our planet.
Over the last decade, there has been a global trend of stronger storms that come almost immediately one after the other. In tropical countries, for example, storms from the Pacific are stronger and the damages to property and loss of lives have been greater in the last couple of years.