Hanna Arrives in Texas as a Hurricane

With sustained winds of 95 mph, Hanna, a Category 1 hurricane made landfall on Padre Island at 5 p.m. Saturday, with the island and nearby Corpus Christi and Port Mansfield bearing the brunt of the high winds and rain. Its accompanying rain bands and high winds were felt over a much larger area ranging from Houston to South Padre Island.

The National Hurricane Center reported the storm strengthened overnight and by 7 a.m. Saturday had reached hurricane status.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott held a briefing Saturday and issued a disaster declaration for Aransas, Bee, Bexar, Brazoria, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Harris, Hidalgo, Jackson, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, La Salle, Live Oak, Matagorda, McMullen, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Victoria, Webb, Wharton, Willacy, and Zapata counties.

Power outages were reported throughout the Gulf Coast and more were expected as the storm continues to make its way in a southwesterly direction. The National Weather Service reported it was moving to the west at a slow 8 miles per hour. Beaches had already been closed on Padre Island. A storm surge of 4 to 6 feet was reported as residents were also warned about the possibility of tornadoes as an offshoot of the hurricane. .

Heavy rain and flash flooding as well as wind damage were predicted throughout the weekend. The Tropical Storm Warning was issued from High Island to the Rio Grande.

Some early shots of the storm’s effects:

South Padre Island Saturday as streets began to fill up with water.

Photo by Irv Downing