THE TAKEAWAY
PORT ARTHUR, Texas — The remnants ofEdouard are swamping Southeast Texas with heavy rain and flash flooding and has left more than 40,000 customers without power as it slowly makes its way inland.
A Flash Flood Emergency was issued for Hardin County, Texas, just to the southwest of Kountze. The storm system has already dropped 3 to 7 inches, with another 2 to 5 inches possible, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
A Flash Flood Emergency resulting in life-threatening flooding was also issued for parts of Hardin and Tyler counties early Wednesday, while some counties, including Polk County, issued a disaster declaration following severe weather impacts overnight.
LATEST FROM FOX WEATHER HURRICANE SPECIALIST BRYAN NORCROSS
Edouard made landfall as a tropical storm near Johnson Bayou, Louisiana, about 15 miles south-southeast of Port Arthur, Texas, at 2:20 p.m. local time on Tuesday, packing maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and a minimum central pressure of 996 mb, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Edouard was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday night, and the storm is now just Edouard's remnants.
The National Weather Service said 10 to 21 inches of rain fell across the area covered by the Flash Flood Emergency early Wednesday morning and urged people in the Kountze, Village Mills and Honey Island communities to seek higher ground immediately.
WHAT IS A FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY?
The Woodville Independent School District and several others nearby canceled school Wednesday morning.
Kountze city officials said on social media that power lines were down and flooding was ongoing early Wednesday, and asked people to avoid travel.
A Flood Watch remains in effect for much of the region through Wednesday evening, including Houston, while a Flash Flood Warning was in effect early Wednesday for Hardin, Jefferson, Tyler, Chambers, Liberty, Polk and San Jacinto counties.
Meanwhile, the Port Arthur Independent School District remained closed Wednesday to assess damage to infrastructure.
This comes after Edouard tore down a wall at Sabine Pass Independent School as strong winds lashed the region.
City emergency management officials said they were investigating widespread reports of a gas odor across parts of the city as the storm came ashore.
Both the city and Jefferson County issued disaster declarations ahead of the storm to help speed up anticipated cleanup.
The Jefferson County commissioner shared video of downed trees that had taken down power lines late Tuesday, and asked people to stay off the roads.
Beaumont announced that city facilities would not open until noon Wednesday while crews worked to clear debris.
The Medical Center of Southeast Texas also announced that widespread power outages have caused temporary interruptions at some of its hospitals.
Crews are currently working around the clock to restore full operations.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, the heaviest rain will fall inland in Texas through midday Wednesday as the storm's center moves inland, somewhat paralleling the Interstate 45 corridor.
"The highest rain totals will be somewhere north and east of the Houston Metro and east of I-45," the FOX Forecast Center said.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ENCOUNTER A FLOODED ROAD
So far, over 17 inches of rain has been reported in multiple locations across Texas.
Rain totals could be as high as 8 to 10 inches in some spots, but most will see a generous 3 to 5 inches of rain, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
NOAA's Weather Prediction Center (WPC) has issued a Level 3 out of 4 flash flood risk for a narrow corridor east of I-45 from Livingston to just north of Palestine.
Tropical Storm Edouard strengthened before making landfall Tuesday afternoon.
"As it neared the coast, the inner core was able to form only a segment of an eye-wall on the southwest side of the storm," the FOX Forecast Center said.
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"In this very small segment, tall thunderstorms formed over the center, allowing for winds to pick up from 40 mph to 60 mph."
A top wind gust of 90 mph was recorded in Port Arthur, with two other hurricane-force gusts measured in the area Tuesday.
This is the third landfall of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, with the previous two tropical storms also coming ashore along the northwestern Gulf Coast: Arthur near Matagorda County, Texas, on June 17, and Bertha in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, on July 22.
Edouard developed quickly from a cluster of thunderstorms in the northern Gulf Friday evening. The cluster was tagged as Invest 97L on Saturday afternoon.
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From there, Edouard strengthened from a Potential Tropical Cyclone to a full-blown tropical storm within the span of nine hours on Monday.
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