Forecasters: Tropical Storm Edouard May Reach Near-Hurricane Strength

NEW ORLEANS — Tropical Storm Edouard formed in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday, and forecasters expected it to bring high winds and several inches of rain to the coasts of western Louisiana and eastern Texas.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center made Edouard, packing 45-mph winds, the fifth tropical storm of the 2008 hurricane season. They expected the storm to strengthen and said it could reach near-hurricane strength by the time it made landfall in Texas sometime tomorrow.

A tropical storm watch was in effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Intracoastal City, La. That meant tropical storm conditions were expected in the next 24 hours. The warning area did not include New Orleans. A tropical storm watch extended west to Port O'Connor, Texas.

The Gulf's warm waters offer very favorable conditions for Edouard to strengthen in coming days, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Rebecca Waddington, said.

She urged residents in the path of the storm to continue watching it and warned that tropical storms can still be very powerful.