VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico — A strengthening Tropical Storm Alex was expected to become a hurricane Tuesday as it swirled toward the Gulf coast of northern Mexico and southern Texas, where authorities were readying emergency shelters and distributing sandbags.
Forecasters said the storm’s likely path would take it away from the site of the huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill off Louisiana’s coast, but added that it might push oil farther inland and disrupt cleanup efforts.
Alex had maximum sustained winds near 70 mph early Tuesday, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami predicted the storm would grow into a hurricane sometime Tuesday as it headed toward the U.S.-Mexico border at the mouth of the Rio Grande. Landfall seemed likely Wednesday night.
Forecaster Todd Kimberlain said conditions Monday led the center to conclude the storm would be a less powerful hurricane than initially thought.
A hurricane warning was posted for the Texas coast from Baffin Bay, 100 miles south to the mouth of the Rio Grande river. Except for the border area itself, both regions are lightly populated.
Workers along the South Texas coast were clearing drainage ditches, filling sandbags and positioning heavy equipment and water pumps as well as preparing emergency shelters. Some cities also handed out sandbags to residents and urged people to make preparations.
Stacy Stewart, senior hurricane specialist at the U.S. hurricane center, said early Monday that Alex’s center wasn’t expected to approach the oil spill site, but the storm’s outer wind field could push more oil onto land and hinder operations in the area.
Alex was centered about 460 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, early Tuesday. Its rains could reach Veracruz and the border state of Tamaulipas late Tuesday or Wednesday, the hurricane center said.