Published: August 05, 2008 11:23 am            

Edouard moves in

Outer bands to bring winds, rain to Central Texas

Rain bands from Tropical Storm Edouard were already moving into Central Texas mid-morning, just hours after the storm made landfall between High Island and Sabine Pass.

The National Weather Service says the San Marcos area should expect a 40 percent chance of showers and thundershowers today, with that increasing to 80 percent overnight.

Jon Zeitler of the NWS New Braunfels office said Monday that along with rain and winds around 20 mph, the storm also brings the possibility of tornadoes. “Similar to Dolly, these tornadoes should be relatively weak and short-lived, but can still be a threat to life and cause thousands of dollars in damage,” Zeitler said.

He said sustained tropical storm force winds (39 mph with higher gusts are possible across Fayette, Lee and Bastrop counties. Winds of 20 to 40 mph are possible in northern Lavaca, far northern Caldwell and Hays and eastern Travis Counties tonight.

Zeitler said rains will continue into Wednesday but will end that night, with hot dry conditions to follow.

Governor Rick Perry has activated up to 1,200 Texas National Guard troops from Camp Mabry in Austin — just two weeks after a similar mobilization for Hurricane Dolly.

Sandwiched between these two storms, Operation Lonestar 2008 moved from week one to week two with some fancy footwork of its own when emergency home repairs in the wake of Dolly dictated that doctors and nurses make house calls.

The Texas Military Forces have moved from phase I with the adaptive battle staff on 24/7 alert to Phase II. The State Emergency Operations Center (SOC) and the Joint Emergency Operations Center (JOC) at Camp Mabry are coordinating and directing all personnel movement. Typically, activation of personnel will progress in six phases: Phase I as described followed by Phase II and current status. During Phase II deployment is in progress or complete with most if not all personnel operational in affected area(s) during Phase III. During Phase IV citizens and rescue personnel will shelter in place so as not to damage equipment or endanger lives. Phase V will resume as soon as it is safe, and re-entry and recovery will commence. Phase VI starts when all operations cease and personnel returns to home station.

For now, the Texas Military Forces are in Phase II preparing to support the state of Texas. Its mission is to save lives and protect property with an initial search and rescue team established at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

This team has linked up with Texas Task Force 1, an expert team trained and ready to conduct swift water rescues. As always we are leaning forward to assist those who live in flood prone areas.

        

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