Alex Strengthens, Expected to Become Hurricane
Last Updated 2:35 p.m. ET
A strengthening Tropical Storm Alex was expected to become a hurricane Tuesday as it swirled toward the Gulf coast of northern Mexico and southern Texas, where authorities were readying emergency shelters and distributing sandbags.
Hurricane warnings are in effect Tuesday for Cameron, Willacy and Kenedy counties in Texas, and along the Texas coast from Baffin Bay to the mouth of the Rio Grande, and in Mexico to La Cruz.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Texas coast from Baffin Bay to Port O'Connor.
Alex had maximum sustained winds near 70 mph Tuesday, with higher gusts. Forecasters predicted the storm would grow into a hurricane sometime Tuesday as it headed toward the U.S.-Mexico border.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said that as of 2:00 p.m. ET Alex was about 320 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and accelerating, moving to the northwest at about 13 mph, with winds just below hurricane strength. Tropical storm-force winds extend up to 140 miles from the storm's center.
Landfall seemed likely Wednesday night.
Gov. Rick Perry on Monday issued a disaster proclamation for 19 Texas counties. The Alamo Regional Command Center has been activated, with 100 buses for evacuation on standby.
Forecasters said the storm's likely path would take it away from the site of the huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill off Louisiana's coast, but added that it might push oil farther inland and disrupt cleanup efforts.
Forecaster Todd Kimberlain said conditions Monday led the center to conclude the storm would be a less powerful hurricane than initially thought.
Bill Reed of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said resident in the area north of Tropical Storm Alex should prepare as though it were a Category 2 hurricane, even if it is in the upper range of a Category 1 when it hits land.
"Given its relatively slow motion, 10-12 miles an hour, and the large size of the rain shield that's already in existence with it, we're forecasting 6 to 12 inches of rain along the path near the center as it comes along the coast, with isolated amounts of 20 inches, both of which are sufficient to cause widespread flooding of the land areas that are developed along the Rio Grande," Reed said.
On South Padre Island, city officials declared a local state of emergency in anticipation of Alex becoming the first hurricane to hit the popular tourist getaway since Hurricane Dolly roared ashore with 100 mph winds in 2008.
Workers along the South Texas coast were clearing drainage ditches, filling sandbags and positioning heavy equipment and water pumps as well as preparing emergency shelters. Some cities also handed out sandbags to residents and urged people to make preparations.
Some South Padre hotels also began losing reservations from skittish customers in the days leading up to one of the island's biggest holiday weekends.
"They've been watching the weather and don't want to take the chance," said Heather Eoff, a front desk clerk at the Wanna Wanna hotel.
At two county parks on South Padre Island, recreational vehicles and other large vehicles were under mandatory evacuation.
CBS Affiliate KHOU reports that the Harry County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Office raised its operations to Level 3 ("increased readiness") in preparation for the storm.
"People who haven't gotten ready, I hope they watch all the newscasts and go, 'Well, it's certainly time to get ready now,'" Harris County Judge Ed Emmett told KHOU. "If you live in a storm surge area, you know, make sure you have a plan, make sure your family knows what your plan is. If you're going to shelter in place and ride out the storm - whether it's this storm or one in the future - make sure you have all the supplies that are necessary."
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines on Tuesday offered travel information for Corpus Christi and Harlingen, areas that could be affected by tropical weather. Southwest says passengers holding reservations for travel Tuesday through Friday are eligible to reschedule.
Mexico's Gulf coast braced for heavy rains like those that fell on southern areas and parts of Central America earlier.
"It is a fact we are going to get very heavy rains," said Gov. Fidel Herrera of the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.
Forecasters said rain from Alex would keep falling on southern Mexico and Guatemala into Tuesday, raising the possibility of life-threatening floods and mudslides
The hurricane center estimated that Alex would dump five to 10 inches of rain over portions of northeastern Mexico and southern Texas over the next few days.
Heavy rains in Mexico's southern Gulf coast state of Tabasco forced the evacuation of about 300 families from communities near the Usumacinta river.
Alex caused flooding and mudslides that caused at least five deaths in Central America over the weekend, though Belize and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula appeared largely unscathed.
The storm made landfall in Belize on Saturday night as a tropical storm and weakened into a depression on Sunday as it crossed the Yucatan Peninsula.
When Alex became the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, officials immediately worried what effect it could have on efforts to contain the millions of gallons of crude spewing into the northeastern part of the Gulf.
Complete Coverage: Disaster in the Gulf
A cap has been placed over the blown-out undersea well, directing some of the oil to a surface ship where it is being collected or burned. Other ships are drilling two relief wells, projected to be done by August, which are considered the best hope to stop the leak.
Stacy Stewart, senior hurricane specialist at the U.S. hurricane center, said Monday that Alex's center wasn't expected to approach the oil spill site, but the storm's outer wind field could push more oil onto land and hinder operations in the area.