Tropical Storm Warnings Issued for Texas, Louisiana Coasts

MIAMI — A tropical storm warning was issued Wednesday for parts of the Texas and Louisiana coasts as a tropical depression intensified in the Gulf of Mexico.

At 11 a.m. EDT, the ninth tropical depression of the Atlantic hurricane season had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and its center was about 85 miles south-southwest of Galveston, Texas, forecasters said.

It was moving toward the north near 6 mph, and its center was expected to cross into Texas later Wednesday between Port O'Connor, Texas, and Cameron, La. Forecasters expected it to become a weak tropical storm with sustained winds of about 45 mph.

About 5 to 10 inches of rain was expected along the middle and upper Texas coast and in southwestern Louisiana, with some areas possibly getting as much as 15 inches, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

A tropical depression becomes a named tropical storm when its sustained winds reach 39 mph. The next name on the National Hurricane Center's list for the 2007 Atlantic storm season is Humberto, followed by Ingrid.

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