000 WTUS84 KHGX 151321 AAA HLSHOU TXZ200-213-214-235>238-151700- HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT...UPDATED FOR NEW COORDINATES NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 815 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2003 ...HURRICANE CLAUDETTE APPROACHING MATAGORDA BAY... ...HURRICANE WARNINGS CONTINUE FOR MOST OF THE UPPER TEXAS COAST... ...THIS STATEMENT APPLIES TO THE RESIDENTS OF... BRAZORIA...CHAMBERS...GALVESTON...HARRIS...JACKSON...LIBERTY...AND MATAGORDA COUNTIES... ...WATCHES/WARNINGS IN EFFECT... HURRICANE WARNING: FROM BAFFIN BAY TO HIGH ISLAND...INCLUDING GALVESTON AND MATAGORDA BAYS AND THE HOUSTON/GALVESTON METRO AREA. INLAND TROPICAL STORM WIND WARNING: FOR WHARTON...FORT BEND...WALLER...COLORADO...AND AUSTIN COUNTIES. FLOOD WATCH: FOR AREAS SOUTH OF I-10. TORNADO WATCH: THROUGH 1 PM FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST OF THE U.S. HIGHWAY 59 CORRIDOR. ...CURRENT STORM INFORMATION... .LOCATION... AT 8 AM CDT...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE CLAUDETTE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 28.4 NORTH...LONGITUDE 95.7 WEST. THIS IS ABOUT 40 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PALACIOS TEXAS. .MOVEMENT... CLAUDETTE IS MOVING WEST NORTHWEST AT 11 MPH. THIS MOTION WILL TAKE THE STORM ONSHORE OVER MATAGORDA BAY IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. .WINDS... MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 75 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... RESIDENTS SHOULD HAVE COMPLETED ALL PREPAREDNESS PLANS AT THIS TIME. ...STORM SURGE AND TIDES... TIDES ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING AT 2.4 TO 7.6 FEET. THESE LEVELS WILL PRODUCE MINOR FLOODING ON THE BOLIVAR PENINSULA AND WESTERN GALVESTON ISLAND. TIDES ARE BEGINNING TO SUBSIDE FROM FREEPORT EASTWARD TO HIGH ISLAND INCLUDING GALVESTON BAY...WITH THE TIDE AT PLEASURE PIER ALREADY FALLEN TO 6.4 FEET. FURTHER WEST...TIDES ARE PEAKING NOW SOUTH OF FREEPORT TO MATAGORDA BAY. LOCATION EXPECTED WATER LEVELS AT HIGH TIDE (RELATIVE TO MEAN LOWER LOW WATER) CLEAR LAKE TUE 2:19 PM 4.4 FT. EAGLE POINT TUE 12:08 PM 5.0 FT. FREEPORT TUE 7:30 AM 6.2 FT. TUE 3:06 PM 5.7 FT. GALVESTON CHANNEL TUE 8:14 AM 6.3 FT. TUE 3:50 PM 5.1 FT. JAMAICA BEACH TUE 10:52 AM 5.7 FT. TUE 6:28 PM 5.1 FT. MORGANS POINT TUE 6:35 PM 3.5 FT. PLEASURE PIER TUE 3:05 PM 4.8 FT. PORT BOLIVAR TUE 8:28 AM 6.6 FT. TUE 4:04 PM 4.3 FT. PORT OCONNOR TUE 2:59 PM 5.8 FT. SAN LUIS PASS TUE 8:05 AM 6.0 FT. TUE 3:41 PM 4.3 FT. ...WIND IMPACTS... TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE CURRENTLY AFFECTING THE ENTIRE UPPER TEXAS COASTAL AREA. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT AREAS SOUTH OF A MORALES TO PEARLAND TO HIGH ISLAND LINE. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS WILL BE CONFINED TO AREA CLOSELY CONFINED TO THE CENTER OF CLAUDETTE...MAINLY SOUTHERN MATAGORDA AND SOUTHERN JACKSON COUNTIES. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO SLOWLY DECREASE BY EARLY AFTERNOON. HIGH WINDS HAVE TOPPLED TREES IN THE SANTA FE AND CLEAR LAKE AREAS AND HAVE BLOWN DOWN POWER LINES IN GALVESTON AND SANTA FE. ...RAINFALL... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE FOR MUCH OF THE DAY...MOST NUMEROUS SOUTH OF I-10. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL VARY FROM 5 TO 7 INCHES ALONG AN EDNA TO FREEPORT LINE...2 TO 4 INCHES ALONG A COLUMBUS TO HOUSTON LINE AND AROUND AN INCH ALONG A BRYAN TO LIVINGSTON LINE. THERE WILL BE ISOLATED RAINFALL TOTALS NEAR 10 INCHES...CONFINED GENERALLY NEAR WHERE THE CENTER OF CLAUDETTE CROSSES THE COAST. ...TORNADOES... THERE WILL ALSO BE AN INCREASING THREAT FOR TORNADOES ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS MORNING. WATERSPOUTS WILL BE LIKELY ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST AND GALVESTON AND MATAGORDA BAYS THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON AS CLAUDETTE MOVES ONSHORE. ...FLOODING... COASTAL FLOODING IS ALREADY OCCURRING OVER MUCH OF THE AREA. WATER IS COVERING NUMEROUS ROADS IN GALVESTON INCLUDING FM 3005 AT COVE VIEW BOULEVARD AND HARBORSIDE DRIVE BETWEEN 14TH AND 16TH STREET. WATER IS ALSO COVERING PORTIONS OF HIGHWAY 87 AND THE HIGHWAY 87 AND HIGHWAY 124 INTERSECTION ON THE BOLIVAR PENINSULA. 61ST STREET AT I-45 WA ALSO FLOODED EARLY THIS MORNING. HIGH TIDES IN JAMAICA BEACH HAVE LED TO TWO FEET OF WATER ON ROADWAYS AND IN YARDS. COASTAL FLOODING WAS ALSO REPORTED IN QUINTANA AND FREEPORT IN BRAZORIA COUNTY. ...NEXT UPDATE... THE NEXT LOCAL STATEMENT ON CLAUDETTE WILL BE ISSUED BY 11 AM. FOR MORE HURRICANE INFORMATION...SEE THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER WEB PAGE AT HTTP://WWW.NHC.NOAA.GOV OR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE'S WEB PAGE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/HGX. $$