Tropical Storm Humberto strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane early Thursday as it swirled just off the Texas coast, where it was expected to make landfall shortly, the National Hurricane Center said.



Rain bands associated with Humberto were moving over the upper Texas coast Wednesday evening, forecasters said.

Humberto -- a slow mover -- is primarily going to be a rainmaker, CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers said. "It will dump a lot of rain in one place, and it will move a little bit and dump a lot more rain and move a little bit," Myers said. Ahead of the storm, Texas Gov. Rick Perry activated state resources, including 50 vehicles, 200 soldiers, six Blackhawk helicopters and two swift-water rescue teams. "Some areas of our state remain saturated by summer floods, and many communities in this storm's projected path are at high risk of dangerous flash flooding," Perry said. At 1:15 a.m. ET, Humberto's center was about 20 miles east of Galveston, Texas, and about 15 miles south of High Island, Texas, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving north-northwest at near 8 mph (13 kmh) and was packing maximum sustained winds of about 80 mph, with higher gusts. "Little additional strengthening is expected prior to landfall," forecasters said. A hurricane warning has been issued from east of High Island to Cameron, Louisiana -- meaning hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area within the next few hours. A Category 1 hurricane has winds of 74 mph or greater.

The storm is poised to dump more than a foot of rain over some already-soggy parts of Texas and Louisiana. "On the forecast track, the center should be crossing the upper Texas coast within the warning area early Thursday," forecasters said.

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The center of the storm turned northward rather than making landfall near Galveston on Wednesday night, CNN Meteorologist Chad Meyers said. That gives the storm more time over the warm Gulf waters -- meaning more time to strengthen prior to landfall.

The storm emerged as a tropical depression late Wednesday morning. By 2 p.m. ET, the hurricane center in Miami announced Humberto had achieved tropical storm status. A tropical storm warning was in effect from east of Sargent, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana. An earlier warning from Sargent westward to Port O'Connor, Texas, was discontinued. The warning means tropical storm conditions, including winds of at least 39 mph, are possible within 24 hours.

Forecasters predicted the storm could dump 5 to 10 inches of rain along the already-saturated Texas and Louisiana coasts, with isolated amounts of up to 15 inches possible. Humberto could bring storm surges of 3 to 4 feet above normal tides near and to the east of where it makes landfall. In addition, isolated tornadoes are possible overnight in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana, the hurricane center said. "I urge all Texans to heed the warnings of their local leaders and take all possible precautions to stay out of dangerous situations as this severe weather continues," Perry said.

The region has seen higher-than-normal rainfall throughout the summer, and Tropical Storm Erin dumped about 6 inches of rain on the Houston area after it hit near Corpus Christi in mid-August. Flooding triggered by the heavy rain was blamed for at least one death. Humberto will be the third hurricane to hit the region this year. Last week, Hurricane Felix barreled into northern Nicaragua as a powerful Category 5 storm, claiming at least 65 lives. Three weeks ago, Hurricane Dean slammed into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, also as a Category 5.

Separately, the hurricane center said Tropical Depression Eight had formed in the Atlantic Ocean and could become a tropical storm Wednesday night or Thursday morning. As of 11 p.m. ET, the depression's winds were near 35 mph (55 kmh), just short of the 39 mph needed to become a tropical storm. The center of the depression was located about 1,005 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, and it was moving west at near 12 mph (55 kmh). If it becomes a named storm, it will be assigned the name Ingrid. "It has a lot of time to get bigger," Myers said

_©CNN

This water-vapor image from 6:15 a.m. ET shows Humberto's center in Texas and heavy rain in Louisiana.


A satellite image shows Humberto hovering near the Texas coast at about 11:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday


Hurricane Humberto crashed ashore along southeast Texas early Thursday, bringing heavy rains and maximum sustained winds of up to 80 mph as it made its way to Louisiana, the National Weather Service said. Heavy rain is falling in areas already inundated by a wet summer

[img width=480 height=313]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/weather/0709/path.humberto/path.jpg[/img]
A soggy Hurricane Humberto sloshed into southeastern Texas early Thursday, making landfall just north of Galveston, the National Hurricane Center reported.

The storm, which had quickly grown from a tropical depression to a Category 1 hurricane, came ashore near High Island in Galveston County around 2 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.
_©CNN

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Vela Rogers, 73, surveys the damage around her home caused by Hurricane Humberto Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007 in Stowell, TX. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

This image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Humberto taken at 7:45 a.m. EDT as it came ashore in southeast Texas. (NOAA)

The area expected to be hit the hardest is in the far southeast corner of Texas from Galveston Island eastward. It includes the Beaumont and Port Arthur areas. (CBS/EARLY SHOW)

_{Bron: CBS news}