Tropical Storm Don makes landfall in Texas, quickly weakens

[News_Editor]

Tropical Storm Don makes landfall in Texas, quickly weakens

2011-07-30 15:17:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

MIAMI (BNO NEWS) -- Tropical Storm Don made landfall on the south Texas coast near Baffin Bay on late Friday evening, forecasters said. The storm quickly weakened to a tropical depression.

The weather system emerged as a tropical wave about 750 miles (1200 kilometers) east of the Windward Islands on July 21 and became a tropical storm on late Wednesday afternoon when it was located over the southern Gulf of Mexico. It never came close to hurricane strength.

Don made landfall near Baffin Bay in South Texas just before 10 p.m. CDT on Friday (0300 GMT Saturday), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC). It then quickly weakened to a tropical depression as it moves towards the west-northwest at a speed near 14 miles (22 kilometers) per hour.

"The cloud pattern associated with Don has deteriorated significantly during the past few hours as indicated by radar and satellite," said NHC senior hurricane specialist Lixion Avila. "The significant weather over water has largely dissipated and most of the shower activity has moved inland. Data from an Air Force Hurricane Hunter plane indicate that the winds are also rapidly decreasing. On this basis, Don has been downgraded to a tropical depression and the tropical storm warning for the Texas coast has been discontinued."

As of late Friday evening, the maximum sustained winds of Don were near 35 miles (55 kilometers) per hour, with gusts up to tropical storm force in some local areas over water. Rapid weakening is expected to continue throughout Saturday.

"The depression should continue to move farther inland on this general track until dissipation in a day or so," Avila said. Don is expected to cross the border into Mexico on Saturday afternoon before it dissipates.

Don is the fourth named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, following Tropical Storm Cindy which formed in the open central Atlantic earlier this month. The storm stayed far away from land, therefore causing no damage or casualties.

According to figures released in May, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is expecting an above-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic this year. The outlook calls for 12 to 18 named storms, with six to ten becoming hurricanes and three to six expected to become a major hurricane (category 3 or higher).

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 11 named storms, with six becoming hurricanes and two becoming major hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, with peak activity in September.

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