Hurricane season update: Potential Tropical Cyclone 1 forms along Texas Gulf coast
HOUSTON - The first invest of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season has now become Potential Tropical Cyclone 1 along the Texas coast.
The National Hurricane Center gave the designation of Invest 90L to a disturbance that they have been watching since last week. By Tuesday morning, they had elevated it to the first Potential Tropical Cyclone (PTC) of the season.
"Potential Tropical Cyclone" is a designation given to a disturbance that is likely to become a tropical system, but has not yet reached that status. This is usually reserved for systems that are causing impacts to land. "Invest" is a term used to indicate an area being closely monitored for the potential of tropical development.
The NHC has given PTC 1 a medium chance of development.
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"The disturbance should move offshore the Texas coast tonight or early Wednesday, move roughly parallel to the upper Texas coast later on Wednesday and move back inland in extreme eastern Texas or southwestern Louisiana late Wednesday or early Thursday," NHC forecasters wrote in their message about PTC 1.
If PTC 1 becomes a tropical storm, it would be called the first name on the list of 2026 Atlantic storm names – Arthur.
Gallery: Photos, videos of Houston street flooding, rain amid Flood Watch
Heavy rain is falling across Houston on Monday as Southeast Texas remains under a Flood Watch through Thursday. See a gallery of photos and videos.
Life-threatening flooding threat covers Texas coast
No matter whether PTC 1 becomes Arthur, the disturbance is bringing heavy rain to much of the Texas coast and raising the threat of flooding across the region.
"Interests across southern and eastern Texas and portions of Louisiana and Mississippi should prepare for periods of intense rainfall over the next several days which could produce widespread, life-threatening flash, urban, and river flooding," NHC forecasters wrote in their outlook.
A Level 3 out of 4 flood risk covers much of the Texas coast Tuesday, including cities such as Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Victoria and Beaumont. The Level 3 threat remains over the Houston region on Wednesday, as well.
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The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch that covers all of the Texas Gulf Coast, from Brownsville up to Beaumont. This includes the Houston metro area.
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It is never safe to drive through water covering a roadway. Remember the adage: Turn around, don’t drown.
The Source: Information in this story came from the National Hurricane Center, NOAA, the Weather Prediction Center and the National Weather Service.