Potential Tropical Cyclone Five may bring heavy rain and gusty winds to eastern Texas and Louisiana

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a low-pressure system about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast that has been labeled Potential Tropical Cyclone Five. The disturbance is moving west-northwest and is expected to make landfall over eastern Texas on Tuesday, either as a tropical depression or as Tropical Storm Edouard.

Wind alerts have been issued for a stretch from Port Bolivar, Texas, to the Vermilion/Cameron Parish line in Louisiana, with tropical-storm-force winds of 40 mph or higher forecast for the area, including the Houston and Galveston regions. A one-to-three-foot storm surge is also possible along the Texas and Louisiana coastlines.

Meteorologists note that while the system is small and may not intensify significantly, heavy rainfall is the primary concern. Forecasts call for locally intense rain bands that could persist through Wednesday and possibly Thursday, raising the risk of flash flooding in the Houston metro area and other parts of eastern Texas, even though the region is experiencing drought conditions.

If the system reaches tropical-storm status, gusty winds would affect the upper Texas and southwest Louisiana coasts for a few hours after landfall. The storm would be the third short-lived Gulf system of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, following Tropical Storms Arthur and Bertha earlier in the year.

The center also reported that the remnants of Tropical Storm Dolly are moving north of the Greater Antilles with a low chance of further development near the Bahamas or South Florida. Dolly is expected to bring additional rain to those areas, with isolated flash-flood threats in hilly terrain.

Authorities advise residents in the projected impact zones to review their hurricane safety plans and stay updated with the latest forecasts.