DALLAS --Tropical Storm Bill formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday night and was expected to make landfall in flood-besieged Texas by this morning.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Monday night that Bill was centered about 160 miles east-southeast of Port O'Connor, Texas, and about 155 miles south-southeast of Galveston, Texas. A tropical storm warning was in effect for the coast of Texas from Baffin Bay to High Island.
Bill had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving northwest at about 12 mph. On the current forecast track, the storm would make landfall along the Texas coast this morning before moving inland.
The center said some slight strengthening is possible before landfall, but the storm is expected to weaken after moving over land.
The storm system in the Gulf starting today could bring five-day rainfall totals of nearly 9 inches in North Texas, up to 9 inches in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and more than 7 in Missouri, according to projections by the National Weather Service.
A Section on 06/16/2015