Tropical Storm Edouard weakens but brings heavy rain, flooding to Texas

PORT ARTHUR, Texas -- The former Tropical Storm Edouard weakened into a depression but dumped heavy rain, flooded roads and knocked down trees Wednesday in parts of Texas as it slowly moved north in the state.

Schools and municipal offices were closed and residents were told to stay at home. Some areas northwest of Beaumont, where the center of the storm passed Tuesday, received between 10 inches (25 centimeters) and 21 inches (53 centimeters) of rain in a matter of hours, the National Weather Service and emergency officials said.

The storm was downgraded Tuesday night, hours after making landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. The system was losing strength as it pushed inland but was still producing heavy rains and some flooding Wednesday. It was expected to break up by Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, a burst of tropical weather continued in the Pacific Ocean, where two hurricanes and a tropical storm that was likely to develop into one were churning in open waters Wednesday.

As the center of Edouard passed over Beaumont, Texas, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Houston, it left a path of downed trees blocking roads, traffic signals that weren’t working and flooded underpasses, Beaumont police said in a post on social media. Some drivers were stranded in floodwaters and needed help.

One weather station in Port Arthur, Texas, recorded a 90 mph (145 kph) wind gust Tuesday.

The storm moved north early Wednesday, prompting flood warnings.

“This is a particularly dangerous situation. Seek higher ground now!” the weather service said in a post affecting rural communities in parts of Hardin and Tyler counties in southeast Texas.

The post said the expected rainfall rate was an inch (2.5 centimeters) to 5 inches (13 centimeters) in an hour Wednesday, in addition to what had already fallen.

About 75,000 utility customers across at least eight counties were without electricity as of Wednesday morning, according to poweroutage.com.

Tropical Storm Marie was well offshore of southwest Mexico in the Pacific and was expected to become a hurricane Wednesday, the Miami-based hurricane center said. Swells generated by the storm were expected to affect parts of the coast in southwestern Mexico and the Baja California peninsula over the next few days.

They will likely spread to southern California over the weekend, the center said.

“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” it said.

Forecasters said Hurricane Lowell in the Pacific, a Category 4 storm, was expected to remain several hundred miles away from Hawaii for the next several days at least, but swells from the hurricane were likely to impact parts of the islands beginning Wednesday. Lowell was expected to remain a powerful storm through Friday.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, Karina has strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm. Some additional strengthening was expected Wednesday, but forecasters said it should weaken over the next few days.

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Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press journalists Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, Julie Walker in New York and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.