Tropical Storm Erin forms, is 250 miles east of TX [View All]

[flvegan]

At 10 a.m. CDT, (11 a.m. ET), reconnaissance aircraft with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration detected winds greater than 40 mph, raising the system's status from a tropical depression to a tropical storm.

At 10:30 a.m., the storm was about 250 miles east of Brownsville, Texas, and about 295 miles east-northeast of La Pesca, Mexico, with sustained winds of 30 mph.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Dean intensified as it moved toward the Leeward Islands in the Atlantic and was expected to become a hurricane by the time it reached them Friday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Forecasters watching the Gulf of Mexico issued a tropical storm warning, meaning tropical storm conditions are expected within 24 hours, for the Texas coast from Freeport southward. Freeport is about 35 miles west of Galveston. A tropical storm watch remains in effect for the northeastern Mexican coast from Rio San Fernando northward.

Tropical Storm Erin was picking up speed, moving west-northwest at 12 mph. The center of the storm was expected to reach the central coast of Texas by Thursday. Tropical storm-strength winds extend 70 miles from the center, NOAA reported

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/15/storms/index.html