Tropical Storm Humberto Forms

Wednesday, September 12th 2007, 5:40 pm

By: News On 6

HOUSTON (AP) _ Tropical Storm Humberto formed Wednesday in the Gulf of Mexico after a warning was issued for parts of the Texas and Louisiana coasts because of the flooding danger from expected heavy rains, forecasters said.

The eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season had maximum sustained winds of almost 50 mph (80.5 kph) and its center was about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) south-southwest of Galveston, Texas, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm already was dropping rain in Texas and Louisiana. Senior hurricane specialist Jack Beven said about 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) to 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) of rain were expected along a 270-mile (434.5-kilometer) stretch of the middle and upper Texas coast and in southwestern Louisiana, with some areas possibly getting as much as 15 inches (38.1 centimeters).

This has been a wet summer for Texas, so the extra rain could be ``enough to create some considerable flooding,'' he said.

The tropical storm was moving toward the north near 7 mph (11.3 kph), and its center should be crossing the Texas coast later Wednesday within the warning area between Port O'Connor, Texas, and Cameron, Louisiana.

Forecasters expect storm surge flooding of 2 feet (0.6 meters) to 3 feet (0.9 meters) near where the storm's center makes landfall.

A tropical depression formed Wednesday far in the open Atlantic. It was centered about 1,130 miles (1,818.5 kilometers) east of the Lesser Antilles and had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph (56.3 kph) and was moving west-northwest at about 12 mph (19.3 kph). Forecasters said it could also become a tropical storm later Wednesday.