Hurricane Alex Webcam
Hurricane Alex continues to make a steady course over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico towards the northeastern Mexico and extreme southern Texas Gulf Coast.
A few bands of showers and thunderstorms are already reaching the Texas coast, and conditions will continue to deteriorate Wednesday. Hurricane Warnings are in effect from Baffin Bay, Texas to La Cruz, Mexico. This includes the Brownsville, Texas, and the mouth of the Rio Grande.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Baffin Bay, Texas northward to Port O`Connor, Texas, as well as from La Cruz to Cabo Rojo, Mexico. Residents in the hurricane warned area should prepare for hurricane winds, waves, a coastal storm surge and winds that could begin by midday today.
Review emergency plans and check with local emergency management officials for evacuation orders. Tropical storm force winds in excess of 40 mph will arrive much sooner, likely early Wednesday.At 1 a.m. CDT, Hurricane Alex is located near 23.1 N and 94.8 W, or about 255 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and is chugging to the west at 8 mph. Maximum sustained winds are 75 mph, and the minimum central pressure is 972 mb or 28.70 inches of mercury.
This makes Alex a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Alex is a large hurricane, with tropical storm force winds extending 175 miles away from its center. Therefore, it is important not to focus on exactly where Alex could make final landfall. Extreme southern Texas will see hurricane and tropical storm conditions starting around midday today and lasting through much of Thursday, including a 3 to 5 feet storm surge that could produce coastal flooding, flash flooding from downpours, tornadoes and extreme winds.
The Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico are favored areas for activity in June thanks to low wind shear and warmer ocean temperatures that help tropical systems develop. However, hurricanes are rare. Hurricane Alex is the first one in the season`s first month since 1995. This is the first storm in the young Atlantic hurricane season, which started on June 1, and runs until November 30. The development of the first named storm and hurricane in the Atlantic is a reminder for those living along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts to have hurricane safety kits containing a sufficient supply of food and water for each person in your family along with first aid supplies. Flashlights, a battery-operated radio and batteries are other potentially life-saving items. For the complete guide to hurricane preparedness, visit the National Hurricane Center`s specifically created web site. Click on this links for the latest images from live cameras along the southern Texas Gulf Coast.