Tropical Depression Edouard is swamping Southeast Texas with heavy rain and flash flooding and has left more than 70,000 customers without power as it slowly makes its way inland. FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin, who was in Port Arthur as Edouard made landfall nearby, describes the cleanup efforts expected to begin later Wednesday.
THE TAKEAWAY
- Tropical Depression Edouard is swamping Southeast Texas with heavy rain and flash flooding.
- A Flood Watch remains in effect for much of the region through Wednesday evening.
- A top wind gust of 90 mph was recorded in Port Arthur, with two other hurricane-force gusts measured in the area as Edouard made landfall Tuesday.
PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Tropical Depression Edouard is swamping Southeast Texas with heavy rain and flash flooding and has left more than 70,000 customers without power as it slowly makes its way inland.
Edouard made landfall as a tropical storm near Johnson Bayou, Louisiana, about 15 miles south-southeast of Port Arthur, Texas, at 2:20 p.m. local time, packing maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and a minimum central pressure of 996 mb, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
LATEST FROM FOX WEATHER HURRICANE SPECIALIST BRYAN NORCROSS
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BEAUMONT, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 1: Tropical Storm Edouard passes over Beaumont on September 1, 2026 in Beaumont, Texas. Edouard, the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, is expected to bring heavy rain along the upper Texas coast.
((Photo by Antranik Tavitian/Getty Images)) -
BEAUMONT, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 1: A medical worker walks towards CHRISTUS Southeast Texas St.Elizabeth hospital during Tropical Storm Edouard on September 1, 2026 in Beaumont, Texas.
((Photo by Antranik Tavitian/Getty Images)) -
Tropical Storm Edouard lashes Port Arthur, Texas.
(Britta Merwin) -
Scenes from Port Arthur, Louisiana, as Tropical Storm Edouard’s outer rain bands soaked the Gulf Coast on Tuesday.
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Edouard was downgraded to a tropical depression at 10 p.m. Tuesday.
A Flood Watch remains in effect for much of the region through Wednesday evening, including Houston, while a Flash Flood Warning was in effect early Wednesday for Hardin, Jefferson, Tyler, Chambers, Liberty and Polk counties.
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Officials in Kountze, in the Big Thicket region, said on social media that power lines were down and flooding was ongoing early Wednesday.
🌀 TROPICAL STORM: The effects of Tropical Storm Edouard were in full display for coastal areas such as Sabine Pass, Texas, where ferocious wind gusts and violent waves crashed along the shore. pic.twitter.com/T6JEeMK2CZ
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) September 2, 2026
Meanwhile, the Port Arthur Independent School District announced that it will remain closed Wednesday to assess damage to infrastructure.
City emergency management officials said they were investigating widespread reports of a gas odor across parts of the city as the storm came ashore.
Both the city and Jefferson County issued disaster declarations ahead of the storm to help speed up anticipated cleanup.
BEAUMONT, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 1: A damaged G.I. Surplus store is seen during Tropical Storm Edouard on September 1, 2026 in Beaumont, Texas.
((Photo by Antranik Tavitian/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
The Jefferson County Commissioner shared video of downed trees that had taken down power lines late Tuesday, and asked people to stay off the roads.
Beaumont announced that city facilities would not open until noon Wednesday while crews worked to clear debris.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, the heaviest rain will fall inland in Texas through midday Wednesday as the storm’s center moves inland somewhat paralleling the Interstate 45 corridor.
“The highest rain totals will be somewhere north and east of the Houston Metro and east of I-45,” the FOX Forecast Center said.
“The rain totals could be as high as 8-10 inches in some spots, but most will see a generous 3-5 inches of rain.”
(FOX Weather)
Tropical Storm Edouard strengthened before making landfall Tuesday afternoon.
“As it neared the coast, the inner core was able to form only a segment of an eye-wall on the southwest side of the storm,” the FOX Forecast Center said.
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“In this very small segment, tall thunderstorms formed over the center allowing for winds to pick up from 40 mph to 60 mph.”
(FOX Weather)
A top wind gust of 90 mph was recorded in Port Arthur, with two other hurricane-force gusts measured in the area Tuesday.
This is the third landfall of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, with the previous two tropical storms also coming ashore along the northwestern Gulf Coast: Arthur near Matagorda County, Texas, on June 17, and Bertha in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, on July 22.
