Tropical Storm Moves Toward Texas Border
Posted on: Saturday, 12 July 2003, 06:00 CDT
Tropical Storm Claudette re-entered the Gulf of Mexico and moved toward the Texas-Mexico border, where it could approach land at near-hurricane strength by late Monday or early Tuesday.
Claudette swept over the tourist resort of Cancun on Friday and then re-emerged over the Gulf disorganized but with winds of 50 mph. Those winds are expected to strengthen to about 72 mph by Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
"We are encouraging everybody in the western Gulf to keep watching this system," hurricane center forecaster Brian Jarvinen said. "We expect it to be at minimal hurricane strength as it approaches the western Gulf coastline."
Current estimates predict a landfall somewhere around Brownsville, Texas, or across the border in Matamoros, Mexico. But with tropical forces winds currently extending 115 miles from the center, a wider swath of the coast could be affected.
In Texas, petroleum giant BP evacuated nonessential employees from oil and gas platforms along the Gulf of Mexico, but the company had not shut down production, a spokesman said.
On Friday, the storm's poorly defined center was about 150 miles north of the tip of the Yucatan peninsula, or about 520 miles southeast of Brownsville.
Early in the day, Claudette battered Cancun's high-rise hotels with high winds and flooded several streets, but life quickly returned to normal.
Cancun's international airport reopened after closing for several hours at the height of the storm overnight. Some flights were delayed Friday but there were no cancellations, said Cancun airport authority official Jorge Pat.
City employees cleaned storm drains clogged with debris and hotel workers returned lounge chairs and sun umbrellas to the beach. Undaunted residents traversed deep puddles of water on bicycles and shopkeepers opened their doors on time.
"I see this as something normal," Onorio Cortes, 25, said as he arrived at his job at a discount pharmacy across the street from several high-rise hotels.
Aside from everyday morning traffic, Cortes said he had no problems getting to work and saw few signs of damage from the storm.
Mexican and foreign tourists, some of whom had expected the worst from the storm, escaped the gray skies and constant drizzle in Claudette's wake by passing the time in restaurants and shopping centers.
Claudette is the third tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It developed Tuesday in the Caribbean, brushing Jamaica's southern coast with heavy rain and rough surf, battering the Cayman Islands with dangerous waves and above-normal tides and scattering rain over parts of Cuba before arriving in Mexico.
Experts have predicted a busy Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.
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