000 WTUS84 KHGX 151600 AAA HLSHOU TXZ200-213-214-235>238-151700- HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT...UPDATE TO FLOODING SECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1100 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2003 ...HURRICANE CLAUDETTE MAKING LANDFALL AT 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: WHARTON...FORT BEND...WALLER...COLORADO...AND AUSTIN COUNTIES. FLOOD WATCH: FOR AREAS SOUTH OF I-10 TODAY. 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 10 AM CDT...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE CLAUDETTE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 28.5 NORTH...LONGITUDE 96.1 WEST. THIS IS ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PALACIOS TEXAS. .MOVEMENT... CLAUDETTE IS MOVING WEST NORTHWEST AT 11 MPH. CLAUDETTE IS MAKING LANDFALL OVER MATAGORDA BAY AND WILL MOVE INLAND OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. .WINDS... MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 80 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ARE LIKELY OVER SOUTHERN JACKSON AND MATAGORDA COUNTIES FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS AS THE EYEWALL HAS COME ONSHORE. IN THE LAST HOUR...NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 84 MPH IN PORT LAVACA WITH WIND GUSTS OF 88 MPH RECORDED AT THE SOUTH TEXAS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN WADSWORTH IN MATAGORDA COUNTY. WINDS OF 65 MPH WINDS WERE REPORTED IN THE LAST HOUR IN MATAGORDA AND SARGENT WITH ROOFS BLOWN OFF HOMES. ...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... RESIDENTS SHOULD HAVE COMPLETED ALL PREPAREDNESS PLANS AT THIS TIME. ...STORM SURGE AND TIDES... TIDES ARE BEGINNING TO SUBSIDE FROM FREEPORT EASTWARD TO HIGH ISLAND. TIDE LEVELS ARE AT 6 FEET AT FREEPORT AND SURFSIDE...5.5 FEET AT PLEASURE PIER AND 4 TO 5 FEET ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF GALVESTON BAY. THESE LEVELS WILL FALL THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. FURTHER WEST...TIDES ARE CURRENT AT THEIR PEAK OF AROUND 7 FEET OVER MATAGORDA BAY AND THE COASTLINE OF MATAGORDA COUNTY. THESE LEVELS WILL BEGIN TO FALL AROUND NOON TODAY. LOCATION EXPECTED WATER LEVELS AT HIGH TIDE (RELATIVE TO MEAN LOWER LOW WATER) CLEAR LAKE TUE 2:19 PM 3.5 FT. EAGLE POINT TUE 12:08 PM 3.9 FT. FREEPORT TUE 3:06 PM 5.2 FT. GALVESTON CHANNEL TUE 3:50 PM 3.8 FT. JAMAICA BEACH TUE 10:52 AM 5.0 FT. TUE 6:28 PM 3.4 FT. MORGANS POINT TUE 6:35 PM 3.5 FT. PLEASURE PIER TUE 3:05 PM 4.0 FT. PORT BOLIVAR TUE 4:04 PM 4.3 FT. PORT OCONNOR TUE 2:59 PM 2.5 FT. SAN LUIS PASS TUE 3:41 PM 3.5 FT. ...WIND IMPACTS... WINDS OF 30 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH ARE AFFECTING THE ENTIRE UPPER TEXAS COASTAL AREA. OVER MATAGORDA...SOUTHERN WHARTON AND JACKSON COUNTIES WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO 40 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 60 MPH. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS OF 70 TO 80 MPH ARE EXPECTED OVER SOUTHERN JACKSON AND MATAGORDA COUNTIES...NEAR VANDERBILT...PALACIOS...MATAGORDA...AND SARGENT. LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTS ROOFS BLOWN OFF HOMES IN MATAGORDA AND SARGENT. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN TO SUBSIDE BY EARLY AFTERNOON. NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES HAVE BEEN BLOWN DOWN EVEN OVER INLAND AREAS AS FAR NORTH AS HOUSTON AND EL CAMPO. ...RAINFALL... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE FOR MUCH OF THE DAY...MOST NUMEROUS SOUTH OF I-10. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL VARY FROM 4 TO 6 INCHES ALONG AND SOUTH OF AN EDNA TO FREEPORT LINE...AND 1 TO 3 INCHES ALONG A COLUMBUS TO HOUSTON LINE. ISOLATED TOTALS OF 10 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE. ...TORNADOES... THE THREAT FOR TORNADOES WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. WATERSPOUTS WILL BE LIKELY ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST AND GALVESTON AND MATAGORDA BAYS THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON AS CLAUDETTE MOVES ONSHORE. ...FLOODING... COASTAL FLOODING CONTINUES FROM MATAGORDA UP THE COAST TO FREEPORT...GALVESTON...AND THE BOLIVAR PENINSULA. WATER IS COVERING NUMEROUS ROADS IN GALVESTON WITH FM 3005 BLOCKED OFF NEAR THE 8 MILE ROAD AND HARBORSIDE DRIVE BETWEEN 14TH AND 16TH STREET. WATER IS ALSO COVERING PORTIONS OF HIGHWAY 87 ON THE BOLIVAR PENINSULA. 61ST STREET AT I-45 WERE ALSO FLOODED EARLY THIS MORNING. THE BOLIVAR FERRY IS CLOSED. LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTS 5 TO 6 FOOT FLOOD WATERS IN QUINTANA AND SURFSIDE WITH WATER INTO HOMES. STATE HIGHWAY 332 HAS BEEN CLOSED TO INCOMING TRAFFIC IN SURFSIDE. AT LEAST ONE HOME HAS COLLAPSED IN SURFSIDE WITH PEOPLE POSSIBLY TRAPPED INSIDE. CLEAR CREEK HAS RISEN ABOVE BANKS IN LEAGUE CITY WITH WATER OVER STATE HIGHWAY 270. HIGH TIDES HAVE FLOODING HOMES AND BUSINESSES IN KEMAH AND SEABROOK WITH NUMEROUS VEHICLES FLOODED OUT. ...NEXT UPDATE... THE NEXT LOCAL STATEMENT ON CLAUDETTE WILL BE ISSUED BETWEEN 12 AND 1 PM TO GIVE THE LATEST STORM INFORMATION. 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. $$