Hurricane Nicholas makes landfall in Texas; Houston, Lousiana on alert

Hurricane Nicholas made landfall in Texas early Tuesday, with wind speeds clocked at 75 mph. The hurricane is feared to bring about 8 inches of rain to parts of the state, the weather forecasters said.

Nicholas (hurricane) made landfall about 12:30 am local time (1:30 a.m. ET), on the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula, about 10 miles west-southwest of Sargent Beach, said the National Hurricane Center. 

Hurricane Nicholas, which was upgraded from a tropical storm to a hurricane at about 10 pm on Tuesday had deluged parts of Texas as soon as it approached.

Some videos shared by social media users showed heavy flooding and winds in Matagorda while the Bay City recorded a 59-mph gust on Monday night, according to the weather forecasters.

Here’s the video

With winds as intense as the 75 mph winds, the Nicholas is considered a category 1 hurricane.

Category 1 hurricanes are very dangerous levels of hurricanes with winds capable of producing damage. In a Category 1 hurricane, winds range from 74 to 95 mph. Hurricanes categories are measured on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. This measurement runs from Category 1 up to Category 5. 

Coming back to Hurricane Nicholas, it has already caused the cancellation of a large number of flights in Houston and officials had urged everyone to be off the streets by nightfall.

This includes United and Southwest Airlines, which has cancelled all flights out of Corpus Christi International Airport for 24 hours due to “deteriorating weather conditions,” a city spokesperson said in a press release.

Meanwhile, the Houston mayor, said rain posed the biggest threat to the city and requested that motorists be off the roadways by nightfall. He had also advised anyone driving to turn around instead of driving through high water or past a street barricade. “They’re there for your protection,” he said.

The flood warning has also been issued in Louisiana on Tuesday and Wednesday, including for areas still cleaning up from Hurricane Ida.