Edouard Tracks Along Louisiana, Texas

Tropical storm warnings were posted Monday from the mouth of the Mississippi River to along the Texas Gulf as Tropical Storm Edouard picked up steam.

At 8 p.m. EDT the center of the storm was about 125 miles south-southeast of Lafayette La., and about 205 miles east-southeast of Galveston, Texas, moving west in the Gulf of Mexico at about 7 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm was expected to turn toward the west-northwest Monday night and the center of the storm should be near the upper Texas coast by midday Tuesday.

A hurricane watch was issued for an area west of Intracoastal City, La., to Port O’Connor, Texas. Edouard was dumping 2-4 inches of rain along portions of the Louisiana coast and southeastern Texas.

Edouard has maximum sustained winds near 45 mph. It had not gained strength by Monday evening, forecasters said, but was expected to be near hurricane strength by the time it reaches the coastline Tuesday.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Monday the Johnson Space Center in Houston would be closed through Tuesday because of the threat posed by Edouard. NASA said flight control of the International Space Station will continue from Johnson and the Space Station Mission Control Center will remain open.