Texas coast braces for major hit
HOUSTON — Harvey intensified into a hurricane Thursday and steered for the Texas coast with the potential for up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges in what could be the fiercest hurricane to hit the United States in almost a dozen years.
Forecasters labeled Harvey a “life-threatening storm” that posed a “grave risk.” Millions of people braced for a prolonged battering that could swamp dozens of counties more than 100 miles inland.
Landfall was predicted for late Friday or early Saturday between Port O’Connor and Matagorda Bay, a 30-mile stretch of coastline about 70 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.
The region is mostly farm or ranch land dotted with waterfront vacation homes and has absorbed Gulf of Mexico storms for generations.
Harvey could cause U.S. gasoline prices to rise, with the storm expected to hit a refinery-rich stretch of the Gulf Coast.
Some refineries are expected to shut down until the storm passes, possibly disrupting gasoline supplies.
Wholesale gasoline futures rose Thursday by 5 cents, or 3 percent, to $1.66 per gallon, and experts say that will quickly show up on service-station signs.
Patrick DeHaan, an analyst with GasBuddy, said Harvey could show up in retail prices immediately. But he says doesn't expect it will have as much effect as some past storms, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which caused a 40-cent jump overnight.
Harvey grew unexpectedly Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane. Fueled by warm Gulf waters, it was projected to become a major Category 3 hurricane. The last storm of that category to hit the U.S. was Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 in Florida.
Superstorm Sandy, which pummeled New York and New Jersey in 2012, never had the high winds and had lost tropical status by the time it struck. But it was devastating without formally being called a major hurricane.
“We’re forecasting continuing intensification right up until landfall,” National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.
Typical Category 3 storms damage small homes, topple large trees and destroy mobile homes. As in all hurricanes, the wall of water called a storm surge poses the greatest risk.
As of late Thursday afternoon, Harvey was about 305 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, moving to the north-northwest at about 10 mph. Sustained winds were clocked at 85 mph.
The hurricane center said storm surges as much as 3 feet could be expected as far away as Morgan City, La., some 400 miles away from anticipated landfall.
And once it comes ashore, the storm is expected to stall, dumping copious amounts of rain for days in areas such as floodprone Houston, the nation’s fourth most-populous city, and San Antonio.
National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini said scientists were “looking at a potentially impactful storm over a two-, three-, four-day period.”
Officials in Port Aransas and Aransas Pass, small coastal towns near the projected landfall area, asked the 12,000 residents to leave and warned those who stayed behind that no one could be guaranteed rescue.
“We are closing down,” said Bethany Martinez, a front desk clerk at a Holiday Inn Express at Port Aransas.
This would be the first hurricane for Martinez.
Asked about her demeanor, she replied: “Afraid.”
President Donald Trump on Twitter asked people to get ready for the hurricane and posted links to websites for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Hurricane Center and a Homeland Security site with tips for emergency preparedness.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was “briefed and will continue to be updated as the storm progresses.”