Hurricane Harvey reached the Texas coast around 10 PM CDT after a day of slowly moving toward land while gaining strength. Harvey started the day as a Category 2 storm, but reached land at Category 4, with sustained winds in excess of 130 mph.
The eye of the storm is now approximately 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christie, passing over San Jose Island near the towns of Rockport and Fulton. Storm surge between Port Aransas, at the north end of Mustang Island and Port O’Connor, 60 miles away on the south edge of Matagorda Bay, is expected to range as high as 13 feet. The strongest surge appears to be in the area facing Matagorda Island, which is mostly undeveloped. However, predicted storm surge for the area west of Padre Island National Seashore, including Corpus Christi itself, which had earlier ranged to 12 feet, has been lowered to between 5 feet and 8 feet.
Storm intensity can be expected to lessen as the eye moves over land, but Harvey is expected to hover over the area for a period of days, bringing intense rainfall and a long period of high winds. Rainfall totals are expected to exceed 30 inches, with possibly 40 inches or more in some areas.
- A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for Port Mansfield to High Island Texas
- A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Port Mansfield to Sargent Texas
- A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for North of Sargent to High Island Texas
Harvey remains an extremely dangerous storm. Flooding can be expected to extend far inland. The long period of rain means that those who remain in the area should not consider the danger past when the intensity of the storm decreases. Flooding can be expected to continue, and in some areas grow worse, over a period of several days.
The extended period of rain and high winds can be expected to slow rescue and disaster recovery efforts in the area.
The position of the storm suggests that the areas of concentrated refineries, storage fields, and ship ports, many of which are northwest of Corpus Christi on Nueces Bay and along Tule Lake Ship Channel, may be spared the worst of the surge. However, with a potential surge in the area still up to 8 feet, there remains a danger of oil spills from damaged refineries and ruptured or displaced storage tanks.