Hurricane Harvey could bring 'catastrophic' flooding to Texas

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Tropical Storm Harvey intensified Thursday into a hurricane that forecasters said could be the first major hurricane to hit the middle Texas coastline in nearly 15 years.

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Our Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologists will be tracking the hurricane throughout the week as it makes landfall on WSB-TV and on WSBTV.com.

Sustained winds reached 80 mph more than a day before landfall was expected late Friday between Port O'Connor and Matagorda Bay, a 30-mile stretch of coastline about 70 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.

Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brad Nitz said the storm could dump up to 30 inches of rain in some areas. Evacuations have begun for some areas.

“Much of east Texas will get 12-20 inches of rain, but some spots could see significantly more. Thirty inches or higher rainfall totals are a possibility as heavy rain from Harvey will fall for several days in Texas. Serious to catastrophic flooding is possible," Nitz said.

Cox Media Group