CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Here's the latest on Hurricane Harvey (all times local):
7 p.m.
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The National Hurricane Center says torrential rain will continue as Tropical Storm Harvey drifts east-northeastward with very little additional motion expected over the next few days.
The center said in its Saturday evening update that maximum sustained winds have now decreased to 60 mph (96 kph) and additional weakening of winds is expected during the next day or two.
The tropical storm's center was about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Victoria, Texas. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 km) from the storm's center.
Harvey came ashore in Texas on Friday night as the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. A judge has confirmed one death and about a dozen injuries from the storm.
6:50 p.m.
Authorities say sheriff's deputies in the Houston area saw a tornado touchdown about four times near Cypress as Tropical Storm Harvey pounds Texas.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office posted a video to Facebook on Saturday of Sheriff Ed Gonzalez speaking to residents and news media about the tornado. Gonzalez says a car with a driver inside was flipped over by the tornado, but is OK. Gonzalez says he and deputies were seeing extensive damage to roofs, but had not heard of any injuries.
National Weather Service meteorologist Wendy Wong says that numerous tornadoes spawned by Harvey caused damage in Houston and the surrounding area -- from around Matagorda on the coast to the Cypress area in the north. She said homes, vehicles and buildings were damaged.
More than a dozen Texas counties were under a tornado watch Saturday night.
Harvey came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane Friday night but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.
6:15 p.m.
The U.S. Coast Guard has stationed rescue boats and planes at several locations around parts of Southeast Texas affected by Tropical Storm Harvey.
The Coast Guard's Houston-Galveston sector protects the coastline near the nation's fourth-largest city, a region home to a critical port and major oil refineries.
Capt. Kevin Oditt, the sector commander, told reporters Saturday that he's confident the refineries have made contingency plans for the rain and winds expected to pelt the area for several days.
The Coast Guard closed the Port of Houston Friday. At least two dozen boats in the sector are on standby for water rescues or other emergencies.
Further south along the Texas Gulf Coast, Coast Guard officers pulled 20 people in separate rescues from boats and barges.
Harvey came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane Friday night but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.
5:45 p.m.
Officials say the U.S. Coast Guard has rescued at least 20 people in various incidents as Harvey came through Texas.
Capt. Tony Hahn, commander of the Corpus Christi sector, said Saturday that two helicopters managed to rescue 18 people -- three people from a fishing boat, four from a barge and 11 from two tugboats -- when it became safe enough to do so.
The Coast Guard also rescued two people and their dog after they became stranded near the city of Rockport, where damage from the hurricane is extensive. The Coast Guard says a helicopter crew spotted them just before noon Saturday. They were taken to a hospital, and they Coast Guard says they're in good condition. It was unclear whether or not they were in a boat when they were rescued.
Harvey came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane Friday night but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.
5:30 p.m.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Texas are without power as work crews take stock of damage from what's now tropical storm Harvey.
The number of people without power has fluctuated throughout the day Saturday.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas manages about 90 percent of the state's electric grid and almost all of the area directly affected by Harvey. A spokeswoman for the council says that as of 5 p.m., the number of outages has dropped to just below 300,000. That number is down from about 338,000 outages reported by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Council spokeswoman Robbie Searcy says the organization has focused on working with providers to maintain the remainder of the electric grid not damaged by the storm while repairs are done on transformers in the affected area.
5:05 p.m.
The National Hurricane Center says that what is now Tropical Storm Harvey is barely moving as torrential rains continue in Texas.
In the center's late Saturday afternoon update says the center of the storm is about 45 miles (72 km) west-northwest of Victoria, Texas, and little motion is expected during the next few days. The center says maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 65 mph (104 kph). Additional weakening is expected over the next day or two. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 kilometers) from the storm's center.
The hurricane says catastrophic and life-threatening flooding is expected across middle and upper Texas through Thursday, with isolated storm totals as high as 40 inches.
Harvey came ashore in Texas on Friday night as the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. A judge has confirmed one death and about a dozen injuries from the storm.
4:10 p.m.
From the Victoria Office of Emergency Management: "Due to effects of Hurricane Harvey, the City cannot pump water into the five water towers that provide drinking water for the public. Crews are working on getting the system back online as quickly as possible. The City will issue a statement as soon as the water system is back in operation."
2:15 p.m.
Rockport officials said during a press conference on Saturday afternoon that at least one person has been confirmed dead and 12 people sustained injuries due to Hurricane Harvey.
1:15 p.m.
The National Hurricane Center has downgraded Harvey from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm.
But officials say they are still worried about potentially catastrophic rainfall that will continue for days, with more than 40 inches and flash flooding possible even well inland
1:10 p.m.
Hurricane Harvey has been dumping nearly 3 inches (76.2 millimeters) of rain per hour at times and has left some streets in flood-prone Houston submerged in water.
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, the chief administrator of the county that includes Houston, says flooding so far is a "minor issue." He says most of the watersheds are well within their banks "but we're not out of this."
Forecasters are predicting major flooding in the area by Tuesday. Houston has about 1,700 miles (2735.76 kilometers) of channels that drain to the Gulf of Mexico.
A handful of freeway service roads and streets and some scattered neighborhoods that normally experience high water in heavy rain have been flooded.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner cautions that although major flooding hasn't happened yet, "that can change."
11:35 a.m.
Texas officials say they are evacuating about 4,500 inmates from three state prisons in Brazoria County south of Houston because the nearby Brazos River is rising from Hurricane Harvey's heavy rain.
The Department of Criminal Justice says inmates from the Ramsey, Terrell, and Stringfellow Units in Rosharon are being taken by bus to other prisons in east Texas.
11: 30 a.m.
Latest update: 126 Outages affecting 8,771 Customers in San Antonio as of 11:30 a.m. Click here for outage map.
10:15 a.m.
The Coast Guard has sent two helicopters to try to rescue the crews of three tugboats in distress near the Lydia Ann Channel near Port Aransas, Texas.
The Coast Guard at Corpus Christi says it received a mayday notification Saturday from crew members aboard the Belle Chase, Sandy Point and Sabine Pass.
Two MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrews have been sent to rescue the crews.
Texas is being pounded by Hurricane Harvey, which came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane Friday night but has since been downgraded to a Category 1 as it moves inland.
Forecasters warn that it could cause catastrophic flooding in the coming days.
UPDATE 9:40 a.m.
Hurricane Harvey has knocked out power to nearly 300,000 customers along the Texas coast and has dumped nearly 20 inches (half a meter) of rain in some places.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages about 90 percent of the state's electric grid, says there were 211,000 outages in the few hours after Harvey made landfall Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane.
That figure rose to 293,000 on Saturday, when the hurricane was downgraded to Category 1.
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In addition to loss of power, emergency personnel in the communities northeast of Corpus Christi where Harvey made landfall are reporting loss of cellphone service and other forms of communication.
UPDATE: 8:15 a.m.
Daybreak has revealed some of the damage caused when Hurricane Harvey came ashore overnight, including downed lamp posts and tree limbs in Corpus Christi and roof tiles torn off buildings.
Harvey came ashore along Texas' Gulf Coast on Friday night as the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. It has since been downgraded from a Category 4 to a Category 1 hurricane, but the storm is expected to hover in the region for days and to dump as much as 40 inches (1 meter) of rain in places.
Corpus Christi's marina has been left nearly unscathed, save an awning ripped from a restaurant entrance and a wooden garbage bin uprooted and thrown.
An old white sport fishing boat was partially submerged and several boats' sails came unfurled and were ripped and whipping in wind gusts of more than 50 mph.
Wind from Hurricane Harvey has been the major issue in the San Antonio area. Gust of 45 mph have already been measured near New Braunfels, KSAT 12 meteorologist Sarah Spivey says. This will be the trend today around SA.
Areas near Hurricane Harvey's eye (Beeville, Cuero, Victoria) could see gusts of up to 70+ mph.
Check out the latest satellite image and find out where Harvey is headed:
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UPDATE: 6:25 a.m. Hurricane Harvey's winds are picking up. Wind gust of 45 mph have been recorded in New Braunfels. Higher winds gusts for Cuero, and Victoria around Harvey's eye, KSAT 12 meteorologist Sarah Spivey says.
Today we will be concerned primarily with both the RAIN and WIND, with conditions deteriorating into the afternoon and evening, Spivey says. The way the storm will affect you today depends on where you live:
SAN ANTONIO AND SURROUNDING AREAS:
As Harvey approaches, winds will pick up and rain will become more persistent. Winds will be sustained at 35-45 mph with gusts up to 50 mph possible. Flooding could be possible by the end of the day.
COASTAL PLAIN (Goliad, Bee, Karnes, Victoria, Cuero):
Storm conditions will be worse here because they are closer to the eye of Hurricane Harvey. Flooding will be possible all day with wind gusts of up to 70 mph possible.
UPDATE: 5:04 a.m. Hurricane Harvey has been downgraded to category 1 with sustained winds of 90 miles per hour.
An automated rain gauge near Victoria, Texas has reported a 24-hour rain total of 16.4 inches due to Harvey.
UPDATE: 4:27 a.m. Rain has begun in Bexar County. San Antonio will be dealing with bands of rain over the next couple of days with the heaviest to the southeast. Hurricane Harvey has been weakening now that it has moved over land, KSAT 12 meteorologist Mike Osterhage said Saturday.
Hurricane Harvey is now expected to be downgraded to a tropical storm on Saturday.
UPDATE: 3:30 a.m.: Hurricane Harvey has settled over southeast Texas, dumping rain and lashing the state's Gulf Coast with damaging winds.
The storm made landfall Friday night as a Category 4 with 130 mph (209 kph) winds. It gradually weakened over the next several hours and by early Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said it back to a Category 2 -- still sustaining winds of 110 mph (185 kph) as of 3 a.m.
Early damage reports from Gulf Coast cities included collapsed roofs and walls. One community transported multiple people from a senior living home to the county jail for treatment after a roof caved in.
But officials remained largely unable to assess the damage before daylight.
The storm is expected to slow further and flood the area with rain through the middle of next week. The center warned that Harvey could produce life-threatening storm surges along a coastal area of more than 400 miles (643 kilometers).
UPDATE 2:20 a.m: Emergency personnel in Aransas County, Texas, are assessing damage reports from Hurricane Harvey as they are able.
Rockport Volunteer Fire Department spokeswoman Gillian Cox tells the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that the roof of Rockport's high school has partially caved in. But Cox says social media posts that the school has "disappeared" are inaccurate.
Rockport City Manager Kevin Carruth tells the newspaper that the courthouse in the city about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi also has sustained major damage. Carruth says that a cargo trailer is halfway in the building.
Officials about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in Aransas Pass say the Harbor Master Building along its coast has been destroyed. The Aransas Pass Police Department posted a video on its Facebook page of the building folding up from the high speed winds.
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(Original Story)
Harvey has been further downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it churns slowly inland from the Texas Gulf Coast, already depositing more than 9 inches of rain in South Texas.
Harvey made landfall about 10 p.m. Friday east-northeast of Corpus Christi as a Category 4, with winds in excess of 130 mph (210 kph).
But wind speeds quickly weakened and by early Saturday Harvey was downgraded. It continues to produce gusts of up to 120 mph (193 kph) and sustained winds of 90 mph (144 kph). The National Hurricane Center warns of "catastrophic flooding" over the next few days.
Emergency personnel in coastal communities like Rockport, just northeast of Corpus Christi, say there's broad damage to buildings. But Rockport Volunteer Fire Department Chief Steve Sims said early Saturday that firefighters were hunkered down at the city's fire station waiting for conditions to improve to assess the damage.
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