Edouard (2008)

A small low formed in the northern Gulf of Mexico from the remnants of a front and became a tropical depression on 3 August 2008 about 140 nautical miles south of Pensacola, Florida. It quickly strengthened to Tropical Storm Edouard later that evening, weakened briefly while moving west, then redeveloped as shear relaxed. Edouard moved west-northwest across the Gulf and made landfall on the upper Texas coast on 5 August, then moved inland across central Texas and dissipated on 6 August.

Edouard made landfall at 1200 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) on 5 August 2008 at the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge, between High Island and Sabine Pass, Texas. It was at tropical storm intensity at landfall with maximum sustained winds of 55 kt (about 63 mph). No other coastal landfalls were reported.

The storm’s peak intensity was 55 knots (63 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 996 mb, which is tropical storm strength (below hurricane strength). Peak winds were reached at 0600–1200 UTC on 5 August just prior to and at landfall.

Storm surge values along the coast did not exceed about 4–5 feet. Notable tide and surge observations include a 4.85 ft storm tide at Rollover Pass and a 4.31 ft storm tide at Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana; NOAA and local sites reported storm surge values generally under 4 ft. Rainfall was limited to a relatively small area near the track; the largest reported totals were 6.48 inches at the Baytown, Texas Emergency Operations Center and 5.91 inches at Sheldon, Texas, with 3.81 inches reported at Hackberry, Louisiana.

Impacts and damage were relatively light. Coastal and inland flooding closed parts of Interstate 10 in Chambers County and caused some street, garage, and storm-tide flooding in Baytown and about 25 homes in Gilchrist, Texas. In Louisiana there was tidal flooding in Lake Charles, roof damage to several mobile homes in Cameron Parish, downed trees and power lines, and power outages affecting up to 30,000 customers in Jefferson County. Offshore oil and gas platforms and some refineries briefly shut down. There was one fatality: an adult male who fell overboard from a shrimping vessel near the mouth of the Mississippi River; this death was associated with rough seas.

Edouard’s formation was not well anticipated; the system appeared in forecasts less than a day before genesis and experimental forecast probabilities were low. Official track and intensity forecasts performed better than average for this short-lived storm, with track errors below the recent five-year means and intensity forecast errors smaller than typical long-term averages. No tornadoes were reported.