MIAMI (Reuters) - The fifth tropical depression of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season formed in the northern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, and was forecast to pass through key U.S. oil production areas before reaching Texas or Louisiana, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
One computer model indicated the weather system could reach hurricane strength before making landfall, but the Miami-based hurricane center's official prediction called for it to top out as a tropical storm with maximum winds of 55 knots, or 63 miles per hour (102 km per hour).
It would be called Tropical Storm Edouard once its top winds reach 39 mph (63 kph). Tropical storms become hurricanes when their top sustained winds reach 74 mph (119 kph).
Much of U.S. offshore oil production is in the likely path of the storm, which could also threaten Gulf Coast refineries.
Oil companies have been working to strengthen platforms to withstand hurricane-force winds and so storm level winds should not pose an undue threat.
The nightmare scenario is a strong hurricane which tracks along the Texas/Louisiana coast before slamming into the Houston ship channel. This isn't going to be the nightmare, but it will probably spook oil prices for a few days.
And, on this day in 1970 Hurricane Celia made a real mess out of Corpus Christi and surrounding areas, a storm that I had a front row seat for. The story is here.
UPDATE: Hurricane watches issued:
NEW ORLEANS — The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch for the coast of western Louisiana and eastern Texas.
The watch issued Sunday night means that hurricane conditions are possible from Tropical Storm Edouard within the next 24 hours from Intracoastal City to Port O'Connor, Texas.
The forecast track can be found here.
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