#Hurricanes Hanna and Douglas take aim at Texas, Hawaii

Hanna morphed from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane early Saturday and is expected to make landfall by evening in southern Texas near Corpus Christi, a region pummeled three years ago by Harvey and now a coronavirus hot spot.

The forecast calls for 6 to 12 inches of rain and maximum winds of 80 miles an hour with the possibility of “life threatening” flooding, the National Hurricane Center said. Tornadoes are not out of the question, according to the center’s Saturday morning advisory.

“I urge all those who are in the path of this storm to heed the warnings and guidance from local officials before the storm makes landfall,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.

Hanna comes at the end of a bad week for the coronavirus in Texas. Cases continued to climb in the Lone Star State with 8,701 reported Friday along with 196 deaths. The seven counties in the path of Hanna, from Corpus Christi south, have roughly 18,000 COVID-19 cases, state health officials said.

In the Pacific, Hurricane Douglas was taking aim at the Hawaiian Islands although it had weakened to a Category 2 storm with wind speeds of 105 miles per hour.

The National Weather Service said Saturday that the storm could be “potentially passing dangerously close to, or over, the islands late tonight through Sunday night.” Hurricane warnings were in effect Saturday in Hawaii and Maui counties as well as Oahu.

“Our top priority is always the safety, health and well-being of our residents and visitors. Please take immediate steps to protect your families, loved ones, employees and property. We ask everyone to closely follow emergency instructions as we prepare for Hurricane Douglas,” said Hawaii Gov. David Ige in a statement.

Although the storm is expected to weaken, it is still forecast to be near hurricane strength when it comes close to the islands, the National Hurricane Center’s Saturday morning advisory said.

Tropical storm Gonzalo is also churning in the Caribbean near the Windward Islands, but was expected to weaken and dissipate by Sunday night.

Gonzalo is the earliest seventh named tropical storm on record that started in the Atlantic, according to Phil Klotzbach, a tropical scientist at Colorado State University, Weather.com reported.