Tropical Storm Arthur Near Texas: Dangerous Heat Takes Over

Tropical Storm Arthur has formed near the Texas coast, but for most of Texas, that does not change much. The bigger Texas weather story now is dangerous heat, high humidity, and returning storm chances later this week into next week. Arthur was upgraded to a tropical storm near the western Gulf after Hurricane Hunter aircraft confirmed the system met the technical requirements. But the rain shield is now mostly east of Texas, and the heaviest rain from this system is shifting toward Louisiana and Mississippi. For Texas, the remaining Arthur impacts are mainly along the upper Texas coast and far Southeast Texas: • Gusty coastal winds • High tides and coastal flooding • Rough surf and dangerous rip currents • A low-end waterspout or brief tornado risk near the upper coast • Lingering showers or storms near the Golden Triangle and far Southeast Texas Galveston and the upper Texas coast may see sustained winds over 40 mph at times, with gusts over 50 mph possible near the coast. Offshore oil rigs have reported stronger winds, but those observations are well above sea level and do not represent what most Texans will experience. Rainfall from Arthur is mostly done for Texas. The heaviest rain is offshore or east of Texas, and the storm will move inland and weaken tonight into Thursday. Louisiana and Mississippi will deal with more of the flooding rain from Arthur. The next Texas issue is heat. Today is already nasty across much of the state, with actual temperatures over 100 degrees in West Texas, the Permian Basin, the Big Country, the Concho Valley, the Big Bend, and parts of Northwest Texas. Heat index values may reach 115 degrees in South Texas and South Central Texas. Thursday may be even worse for many Texans. Heat index values may reach 105 to 115 degrees along and east of I-35, including parts of DFW, Austin, San Antonio, East Texas, the Brazos Valley, and Southeast Texas. In South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, peak heat index values may approach 125 degrees. That is dangerous heat. Storm chances are not gone either. A few storms are possible Thursday night into Friday morning across Northwest Texas, Texoma, the Red River region, the Permian Basin, the Big Country, and the Concho Valley. Scattered storms may continue Friday into Saturday along parts of I-35, the Hill Country, Edwards Plateau, Central Texas, Northeast Texas, and the ArkLaTex. Looking into the late weekend and next week, Texas may start seeing overnight and morning storm complexes moving south from Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, or the Plains. If that pattern locks in, the summer storm train may begin, with gusty winds, lightning, and locally heavy rain possible. In this Texas Weather Roundup: • Tropical Storm Arthur forms near Texas • Why Arthur does not change much for most Texans • Rain shifts east toward Louisiana and Mississippi • Coastal flooding and high tides on the upper Texas coast • Gusty winds near Galveston, Beaumont and Port Arthur • Low-end waterspout or brief tornado risk • Texas rainfall threat winds down • New storm chances Thursday through Saturday • Possible summer storm train next week • Dangerous heat builds across Texas • Heat index values may reach 115 in Central and South Texas • Rio Grande Valley heat index may approach 125 • Panhandle gets a brief cool-down • Weekend heat and scattered storm chances Track storms anytime: TexasStormChasers.com/radar Download the free Texas Storm Chasers app for local forecasts, radar, alerts, Texas Weather Roundups, and live coverage. Chapters 0:00 Tropical Storm Arthur forms near Texas 0:51 Radar update: rain shifts east 1:21 Upper Texas coast wind and coastal flooding 2:18 Arthur track and why the name changes little 3:38 Rain threat winds down for most of Texas 4:18 Heat becomes the main Texas issue 4:49 Storm chances return late week 6:00 Possible summer storm train next week 8:06 Rainfall forecast and severe storm outlook 9:07 Dangerous Texas heat and heat index forecast 13:10 Final forecast summary #TexasWeather #TropicalStormArthur #TexasStormChasers