Lynn Dixon places sandbags outside their home decor store in Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Conditions were deteriorating along Texas’s Gulf Coast on Friday as Hurricane Harvey strengthened and slowly moved toward the state, with forecasters warning that evacuations and preparations “should be rushed to completion.” Photo: AP Photo/David J. Phillip.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Harvey as it takes aim at the Texas coast (all times local):
11:50 a.m.
Forecasters say effects from Hurricane Harvey could be felt at far east as the Alabama coast and the western Florida Panhandle.
Harvey is forecast to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 storm. It’s predicted to slam into the Texas coast and dump torrential rains before moving eastward.
The National Weather Service says rip currents associated with Harvey could be a problem some 650 miles (1,046 kilometers) away in the Florida Panhandle.
Officials say that means there’s an elevated risk for hazardous surf conditions over the weekend in places including the Alabama coast and around Pensacola, Florida.
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11:40 a.m.
Forecasters now say there’s a good chance Hurricane Harvey may hit Texas twice, worsening projected flooding.
The National Hurricane Center’s official five-day forecast Friday has Harvey slamming the central Texas coast, stalling and letting loose with lots of rain. Then forecasters project the weakened but still tropical storm is likely to go back into the Gulf of Mexico, gain some strength and hit Houston next week.
Jeff Masters, Weather Underground’s meteorology director, said this could cause a collision of high water with nowhere to go. Harvey is projected to drop up to 3 feet (0.91 meter) of rain in some places over the next several days.
But a second landfall near Houston means more storm surge coming from the Gulf. Storm surge is an abnormal rise of water above the normal tide, generated by a storm.
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11:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he’s keeping a close watch on Hurricane Harvey.
On Twitter Friday, Trump said he “Received a #HurricaneHarvey briefing this morning” from top federal officials.
In another statement on Twitter, Trump said he had spoken with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. He added: “Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey developments & here to assist as needed.”
Trump tweeted Thursday, encouraging people to be prepared. Harvey is forecast to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 storm.
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11:15 a.m.
Corpus Christi officials say all flights out of the city’s airport have been canceled as Hurricane Harvey approaches.
The city said in a news release late Friday morning that the airlines had canceled all flights out of Corpus Christi International Airport for the rest of the day.
The city said the airport isn’t closed, but officials don’t anticipate much activity over the weekend. Runways will be closed as conditions warrant. The hurricane is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday morning.
The city says Southwest and United Airlines have no scheduled flights until Monday, while American Airlines hopes to resume service on Saturday.
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10:45 a.m.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says there’s still time for coastal residents in the path of Hurricane Harvey to get out of harm’s way. But he says they must leave immediately.
Abbott on Friday didn’t second-guess local officials who have called for voluntary and not mandatory evacuations. He told The Weather Channel that mayors and local leaders “know their terrain very well.”
Abbott has expressed concerns that not as many people are evacuating compared with previous storms as Harvey bears down on the state. Harvey is forecast to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 storm.
Abbott has activated about 700 members of the Texas National Guard in preparation for Harvey. The storm is set to be the first hurricane to make landfall on the Texas coast since Hurricane Ike in 2008.
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10:20 a.m.
Hurricane Harvey continues to swirl toward the middle Texas coast as it flirts with becoming a major Category 3 storm.
The National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory as of 10 a.m. Friday places the storm about 115 miles (185 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi, moving 10 mph (17 kph) to the northwest. Sustained winds have been holding at 110 mph (177 kph).
Forecasters have said it will intensify and make landfall Friday evening or early Saturday as a likely Category 3 storm, meaning sustained winds topping 115 mph (185.07 kph).
Once the storm makes landfall, gradual weakening is forecast but because so much of the storm remains over the warm Gulf of Mexico, which fuels Harvey, the hurricane center says the weakening could be slower than normal.
That also means the storm is likely to be a huge rainmaker. Predictions for a wide area of Texas from the coast and inland for rainfall measuring up to nearly 3 feet (0.91 meter) as the storm stalls and meanders well into next week.
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10 a.m.
An emergency management official on the Texas coast says a primary concern as Harvey approaches is heavy rain that could leave many towns isolated for days as they’re turned into “essentially islands.”
Harvey is forecast to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 storm.
Melissa Munguia is deputy emergency management coordinator for Nueces (nyoo-AY’-sis) County. She says there are vast flatlands just inland from the central Texas coast that are prone to flooding.
The approximately 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain that Harvey may bring could leave towns in the area isolated well into next week.
Munguia says that traffic backups were being seen Friday on heavily traveled roads such as Interstate 37 as people move inland to San Antonio and other locations.
Lynn Dixon places sandbags outside their home decor store in Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Conditions were deteriorating along Texas’s Gulf Coast on Friday as Hurricane Harvey strengthened and slowly moved toward the state, with forecasters warning that evacuations and preparations “should be rushed to completion.” Photo: AP Photo/David J. Phillip.
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7:45 a.m.
The National Hurricane Center warns that conditions are deteriorating as Hurricane Harvey strengthens and slowly moves toward the Texas coast.
The center says preparations for the storm “should be rushed to completion” Friday morning along Texas’ central Gulf Coast.
The center says the storm has maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph), just shy of the benchmark for a Category 3 storm. Forecasters say the storm is expected to reach that mark before making landfall late Friday or early Saturday.
Millions of people are bracing for a prolonged battering that could swamp dozens of counties more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) inland.
Brock Long is the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He tells “Good Morning America” that Harvey is a “very serious” threat and that the window for evacuating is quickly closing.
Long says he expects extensive damage from significant rain over the next three days.
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1:30 a.m.
Texas residents and officials are preparing for Hurricane Harvey, which the National Hurricane Center says has strengthened to a Category 2 storm.
Harvey grew quickly Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane. Early Friday, the center reported it’s now at a Category 2.
Fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, the storm is projected to become a major Category 3 hurricane. Forecasters are labeling it a “life-threatening storm” with landfall predicted late Friday or early Saturday between Port O’Connor and Matagorda Bay, a 30-mile (48-kilometer) stretch of coastline about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi.
Texas officials have been expressing concern that not as many people are evacuating compared with previous storms as Hurricane Harvey bears down on the state.