000 WTUS84 KHGX 151729 AAA HLSHOU TXZ200-213-214-235>238-151700- HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1230 PM CDT TUE JUL 15 2003 ...HURRICANE CLAUDETTE HAS MADE LANDFALL... ...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 COUNTY. FLOOD WATCH: FOR AREAS SOUTH OF I-10 TODAY. TORNADO WATCH: THROUGH 7 PM FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST OF THE U.S. HIGHWAY 59 CORRIDOR. THE INLAND TROPICAL STORM WIND WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR COLORADO...AUSTIN...WALLER...AND FORT BEND COUNTIES. ...CURRENT STORM INFORMATION... .LOCATION... AT NOON CDT...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE CLAUDETTE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 28.5 NORTH...LONGITUDE 96.7 WEST. THIS IS ABOUT 25 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF VICTORIA TEXAS. .MOVEMENT... CLAUDETTE IS MOVING WEST NORTHWEST AT 12 MPH. CLAUDETTE HAS MADE LANDFALL AND WILL BE MOVING INTO SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS BY EARLY EVENING. .WINDS... MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 80 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS NOW OVER JACKSON AND MATAGORDA COUNTIES WILL SUBSIDE OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. ...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... RESIDENTS SHOULD HAVE COMPLETED ALL PREPAREDNESS PLANS AT THIS TIME. ...STORM SURGE AND TIDES... TIDES ARE SUBSIDING FROM FREEPORT EASTWARD TO HIGH ISLAND. TIDE LEVELS ARE ABOUT 5.5 FEET AT FREEPORT AND SURFSIDE AND 4 TO 5 FEET ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF GALVESTON BAY. TIDES ALONG GALVESTON ISLAND AND BOLIVAR PENINSULA HAVE DROPPED TO BETWEEN 3 AND 4 FEET. THESE LEVELS WILL CONTINUE FALLING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. FURTHER WEST...TIDES WILL BEGIN SUBSIDING BETWEEN MATAGORDA BAY AND FREEPORT OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. THESE LEVELS PEAKED AROUND 7 FEET LATE THIS MORNING. 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 6:28 PM 3.4 FT. MORGANS POINT TUE 6:35 PM 4.5 FT. PLEASURE PIER TUE 3:05 PM 3.5 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 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE AFFECTING THE ENTIRE UPPER TEXAS COAST FROM MATAGORDA BAY TO HIGH ISLAND. THESE WINDS ARE ALSO AFFECTING INLAND AREAS OF MATAGORDA AND WHARTON COUNTIES. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS OF 70 TO 80 MPH ARE STILL POSSIBLE FOR A COUPLE MORE HOURS OVER PORTIONS OF JACKSON AND MATAGORDA COUNTIES. WINDS OVER THE ENTIRE AREA WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE THIS AFTERNOON. LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTS ROOFS BLOWN OFF HOMES IN MATAGORDA AND SARGENT. 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 3 TO 5 INCHES ALONG AND SOUTH OF AN EDNA TO FREEPORT LINE...AND 1 TO 2 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 THIS AFTERNOON. WATERSPOUTS WILL BE LIKELY ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST AND GALVESTON AND MATAGORDA BAYS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. ...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. HOMES ARE FLOODED IN SMITH POINT...OAK ISLAND...AND WHITE HERON IN CHAMBERS COUNTY. 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 2 AND 3 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. $$