Tropical depression Nicholas
Nicholas, now a Tropical Depression, continues to suffocate the area.
Tropical Storm Warning for the Gulf Coast Nicholas has deteriorated to a tropical depression and has slowed to a crawl over southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana, where torrential rains have continued to deluge the region, posing a flood danger.
(AP) — SURFSIDE BEACH, Texas — After being downgraded to a tropical depression, Tropical Storm Nicholas continued to deteriorate Tuesday night, slowing to a crawl over southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana, soaking both states with devastating rains.
The downgrade occurred the same day that Nicholas made landfall as a Category 1 storm, knocking out electricity to 500,000 homes and businesses and pouring more than a foot (30.5 cm) of rain in the same region devastated by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Forecasters say Nicholas may stall over storm-battered Louisiana and deliver life-threatening floods to the Deep South in the coming days.
Nicholas made landfall on the Matagorda Peninsula early Tuesday and was quickly reduced to a tropical storm.
According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, as of 10 p.m.
CDT, its center was 15 miles (24.14 kilometers) west-northwest of Port Arthur, Texas, with maximum winds of 35 mph (55 kph).
The greatest rain, however, was seen across southern Louisiana, far east of the storm core, according to weather radar.
The downgrade occurred the same day that Nicholas made landfall as a Category 1 storm, knocking out
electricity to 500,000 homes and businesses and pouring more than a foot (30.5 cm) of rain in the same region devastated by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Forecasters say Nicholas may stall over storm-battered Louisiana and deliver life-threatening floods to the Deep South in the coming days.
Nicholas made landfall on the Matagorda Peninsula early Tuesday and was quickly reduced to a tropical storm.
According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, as of 10 p.m. CDT, its center was 15 miles (24.14
kilometers) west-northwest of Port Arthur, Texas, with maximum winds of 35 mph (55 kph).
The greatest rain, however, was seen across southern Louisiana, far east of the storm core, according to weather radar.
At 6 mph, the storm is heading east-northeast (9 kph).
Although the storm’s winds will gradually decrease, heavy rainfall and a substantial flash flood danger will
persist over the Gulf Coast for the next couple of days, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Nicholas, the 14th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, dumped almost 14 inches (35
centimeters) of rain on Galveston, Texas, while more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain fell on Houston.
That’s a drop in the bucket compared to Harvey, which dropped more than 60 inches (152 cm) of rain over a four-day period in southeast Texas.
Kirk Klaus, 59, and his wife Monica Klaus, 62, lived in their two-bedroom house on stilts for approximately
6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) above the earth in the tiny coastal town of Surfside Beach, about 65 miles
(105 kilometers) south of Houston.
“It was a disaster.
Kirk Klaus said, “I will never do that again.”
He claimed it poured all day Monday and the rain and winds grew stronger as the night went on.
Strong gusts broke out two of his home’s windows about 2:30 a.m.
Tuesday, bringing in rain and causing the couple to constantly clean their floors.
Klaus claimed the rain and winds caused a 2-foot storm surge in front of his house.
He said, “It looked like a river out here.”
Andrew Connor, 33, of Conroe, was not watching the news at his family’s leased Surfside Beach holiday
home and was completely ignorant of the storm’s approach until it hit.
When the storm surge engulfed the beach home, Connor considered using surfboards to transport his
wife and six children to higher ground if the house swamped.
The tide never made it through the entrance, but the family SUV was flooded, according to Connor.
“I had seaweed and beach toys and all that crap in my engine when I opened the hood,” he stated.
According to meteorologists, Nicholas is moving so slowly that it will drop several inches of rain as it
creeps over Texas and southern Louisiana.
This covers regions hit by Hurricane Ida and ravaged by Hurricane Laura last year. According to University
of Miami hurricane expert Brian McNoldy, parts of Louisiana are saturated with nowhere for the
additional water to go, causing flooding.
McNoldy said Tuesday, “It’s trapped in a poor steering situation.”
So, although the storm itself may diminish, the rain will continue to fall.
It will still rain a lot, whether it’s a tropical storm, tropical depression, or post-tropical blob, and it’s not healthy for that area.”
According to the website poweroutage.us, which monitors utility data, more than 500,000 households and
businesses in Texas had lost power, but that figure had fallen below 200,000 by late Tuesday afternoon.
The majority of the disruptions were caused by strong winds when the storm passed through overnight,
according to utility authorities.
Around 89,000 customers in Louisiana were still without power Tuesday afternoon, mainly in regions
devastated by Hurricane Ida.
Nicholas dumped rain in the same part of Texas where Harvey wreaked havoc, killing at least 68 people,
including 36 in the Houston region.
Following Hurricane Harvey, voters authorized the issuing of $2.5 billion in bonds to finance flood-control
measures such as bayou expansion.
The 181 initiatives aimed at reducing the damage caused by future storms are in various states of completion.
Nicholas, according to hurricane expert McNoldy, will deliver much less rain than Harvey did.
“It isn’t a huge lot of rain. It’s not like Hurricane Harvey, which dumped feet of rain,” McNoldy said.
Harvey not only stalled over the same region for three days, but it also went back into the Gulf of Mexico,
enabling it to replenish with additional water. Nicholas will not do so, according to McNoldy.
Nicholas may dump up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain in areas of southern Louisiana before
weakening into a tropical depression by Tuesday night.
Heavy rain is expected across southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and the western Florida Panhandle,
according to forecasters.
Heavy rains from Hurricane Nicholas pummelling blue tarps covering roofs destroyed by Hurricane Ida
throughout southern Louisiana on Tuesday.
At Motivatit Seafood, a family-run oyster distributor in Houma, Louisiana, Ida damaged one structure and ripped holes in the top of the main facility.
With rain from Hurricane Nicholas pelting high-pressure processing equipment, owner Steven Voisin said
he wasn’t sure whether the machinery could be salvaged after the current bout of tropical weather.
He said, “And many individuals from here to New Orleans have this or worse damage.”
“They aren’t going to get back on their feet soon or easily.”
Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a state of emergency in Louisiana late Sunday night, ahead of the storm’s arrival.
Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter said Monday that workers were cleaning the drainage system in southern
Louisiana to keep it clear of trash that might block it and create floods.
However, he expressed concern about people’s mental health following numerous natural catastrophes in such a short period of time.
Last year, Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm, wreaked havoc on the city of roughly 80,000 people.
Hurricane Delta slammed over the same region a few weeks later.
In January, freezing conditions caused pipes to break throughout the city, and a May downpour flooded homes and businesses once again.
Over the course of a year, some people have had to demolish their homes several times.
“With all that has happened in Lake Charles over the past 16 months, people are understandably depressed and upset.
People become frightened whenever there is even a whiff of a weather event approaching,” he added.
This story was contributed to by Associated Press reporters Terry Wallace in Dallas, Jill Bleed in Little
Rock, Arkansas, Jay Reeves in Houma, Louisiana, Rebecca Santana in New Orleans, Julie Walker in New
York, and AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Washington.
More:
Forecasters: Tropical Storm Nicholas forms in the Gulf of Mexico
source:
Nicholas, Now a Tropical Depression, Still Douses Gulf Coast
