The forecasts I saw said Hanna would be a tropical storm at landfall. Welcome to 2020.
Hurricane Hanna Continues to Intensify Ahead of Texas Landfall; Conditions Worsening in South Texas
Hurricane Hanna's eye is now coming ashore in South Texas ahead of landfall later today, with the potential for dangerous rainfall flash flooding extending well inland into northeast Mexico.
Sustained winds have increased to 85 mph according to the Hurricane Hunters. The hurricane's eyewall is moving inland south of Corpus Christi. Some areas between Corpus Christi and Brownsville will get a break in the wind and rain as Hanna's eye moves ashore.
Conditions are deteriorating in much of South Texas, with increasing rainfall and wind gusts, as Hanna intensifies. A 79 mph gust has been reported in Laguna Madre, Texas.
Shingles have been blown off homes in Port Mansfield, Texas, by strong winds. Roofs have been taken off of some boat storage facilities, also near Port Mansfield. Several buoys have reported wind gusts of 80-100 mph just offshore.
A sea level rise of more than 6 feet is inundating North Padre Island near Corpus Christi as the eyewall of Hurricane Hanna arrives. A wind gust of 68 mph was recently recorded at the Bob Hall pier in Corpus Christi. A portion of a smaller pier near Corpus Christi was also destroyed by the rough seas.
More than two feet of storm surge near Sargent, Texas has overwashed the dunes, creating waves of debris on Sargent Beach. A storm surge of around 2 feet has also been recorded as far north as Galveston Island.
Tropical-storm-force sustained winds with occasional hurricane-force gusts may be occurring on Padre Island.
A Hurricane Warning has been issued from Mesquite Bay, Texas, southward to Port Mansfield, Texas. Tropical Storm Warnings now extend northward to Sargent, Texas and southward to Barra el Mezquital, Mexico.
A Storm Surge Warning has been issued from Baffin Bay to Sargent, Texas, including Corpus Christi Bay, Copano Bay, Aransas Bay, San Antonio Bay and Matagorda Bay.
The map below shows the latest hurricane and tropical storm warnings issued. A hurricane warning means winds of 74 mph or greater are expected Saturday afternoon. A tropical storm warning means winds of at least 40 mph are expected in the next 36 hours.
Hanna is tracking westward across the Gulf of Mexico toward southern Texas with a slightly slower pace than yesterday.
Radar imagery and data from the Hurricane Hunters show this system has gained winds of 85 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane. Additional strengthening is possible before it reaches the coast late Saturday afternoon.
Hanna is the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season, and is roughly two weeks ahead of climatology. The first hurricane of the season generally occurs around August 10.
Hanna rapidly intensified from Friday into Saturday when winds increased from 45 mph to 80 mph.
Thursday night, Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance mission found winds ticked up just enough to upgrade Tropical Depression Eight to Tropical Storm Hanna, the record earliest eighth named storm, beating Tropical Storm Harvey's record, set in 2005, according to Phil Klotzbach, tropical scientist at Colorado State University. Hanna also formed before the previous record for earliest seventh storm, beating the record set by Gert on July 24, 2005.
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-07-25-hurricane-hanna-south-texas-landfallhttps://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
