Tropical Storm Edouard developed late Monday evening before its expected landfall in southeast Texas, the first major storm of hurricane season in Texas. Public officials and energy suppliers said they were prepared to withstand the storm.
As of Monday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center forecasted the storm would bring maximum winds of 35 miles per hour. A tropical storm warning was in effect east of Bolivar. Though the system is officially a tropical storm, meteorologists have predicted it would be a short-lived one.
The center of the storm was expected to reach the Gulf Coast on Tuesday and move further inland into Tuesday evening. Harris and Galveston Counties were under a flood watch from 1 a.m. Tuesday through 7 a.m. Wednesday.
The National Weather Service projected most areas would see rainfall of up to 3 to 5 inches, with some isolated areas seeing 6 to 9 inches. Meteorologists with NWS predicted, though, there would be a narrow threshold between areas seeing little to no rain and areas with several inches of rain.
Here's how energy officials and city, county, and state leaders were responding to the tropical depression.
Houston and Harris County
City officials planned to open their Emergency Operations Center at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson with the Office of Emergency Management (OEM). When the center opens on Tuesday, OEM will operate at a "high readiness" level, which the agency defines as including "increased support for coordinated efforts between key agencies engaged in the emergency."
Water levels in Lake Houston were set to potentially be lowered Monday between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. A spokesperson said the lake will be lowered by one foot.
Related: Houston-area school districts announce closures ahead of potential tropical storm
The Houston Police Department and Houston Fire Department were preparing for high-water vehicle rescues, staging trucks and boats around the city.
The Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management was also operating at a level of increased readiness. In a press release issued Monday afternoon, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo encouraged residents to use caution when driving on the road Tuesday.
Statewide response
In a press conference on Monday, Governor Greg Abbott said the state's emergency operation center had been activated to run round-the-clock. Twenty state agencies and 1,500 state-level personnel had been activated, Abbott said, along with rescue aircraft, swift water rescue boats and high-water vehicles.
"It’s so incredibly important for anybody in any region of the state, but especially in Harris County, to avoid driving into what appears to be waters on the roadway," Abbott said in Austin. "Too often we see people get swept away or have their cars washed away, especially in the Harris County area because of rising waters."
Winds were estimated to blow up to 35 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. That would be enough to pose a threat of wildfires, Abbott said.
"Just because it may be raining, the ground is dry, the grass is brown," he said. "The conditions exist where a fire can spread very rapidly, and be safe about that."
Related: Tropical storm warning issued for parts of southeast Texas, flood watch in Harris County
Both the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the latter of which oversees the state's electrical grid, said they did not expect significant energy-related concerns from the severe weather.
Thomas Gleeson, chair of the PUCT, said their organization had been in contact with energy suppliers like CenterPoint to prepare for the weather. That included inspecting powerlines, utility poles and substations; clearing vegetation; and placing crews on standby to respond to the storm.
Pablo Vegas, CEO of ERCOT, said there are no restrictions on energy usage on the grid.
"Typically, transmission lines are built to be able to withstand wind forces in excess of 110 miles an hour," he said. "As you heard from the governor earlier, we’re not expecting wind forces anywhere near that speed, and so there are no restrictions operating or otherwise on the transmission grid right now."
CenterPoint Energy — the electricity and gas utility company for the Houston area — activated its emergency operations center and mobilized frontline workers in preparations for the weather system, company spokesperson Keith Stephens said during a press conference Monday.
"As we have this weather that may come in tomorrow, we may see some wires down from different places, whether that might be a tree or something else that might come in contact with our lines," Stephens said.
CenterPoint officials said they had been monitoring the system for several days.
Customers closest to the coast were expected bear the brunt of the storm. The impacts were forecast to begin early Tuesday and last through Wednesday morning.
"We recognize that weather is unpredictable and forecasts may change,” Marco Monreal, CenterPoint Energy's lead meteorologist, said. “We're taking every step, every preparation and watching models closely as the storm develops.”
Editor’s note: This story was edited at 9:10 a.m. on Sept. 1 to reflect the National Hurricane Center’s announcement that the system has developed into a tropical storm and to include details on Lake Houston’s lowering.
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