Tropical Storm Hermine Downgraded to Depression

HOUSTON - Tropical Storm Hermine has been downgraded to a tropical depression according to the National Weather Service.

Though it was downgraded around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, it is still expected to bring heavy rainfall to central Texas.

It was feared that Hermine might drop as much as 6 inches of rain in the Houston area, if its training effect had repeatedly pulled moisture over the same region.

But that concern proved unfounded, says Rice University professor Phil Bedient.

"It certainly would have been a possibility if the training had come in all at the same time, or lined up all over the watershed," said Bedient, who runs SSPEED, the Center for Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters.

"But what happened, as you can clearly see from the radar, is the 'train' started to separate. And the 'cars' separated and then they came in at different areas. And because of that, it distributed the rainfall widely."

Hermine is drifting northward after making landfall south of Brownsville in Mexico.

After crossing northern Mexico before 9 p.m. Monday, winds from the then storm reached as much as 65 mph before moving into an area of south Texas that was recovering from Hurricane Alex which struck the area in late June.

More than 3,000 people were evacuated from the Mexican border city of Matamoros to shelters and Tuesday classes were canceled in both Matamoros and Brownsville.

A power outage in Cameron and Willacy counties affected more than 50,000 people following the movement of Hermine through south Texas. Power was restored for the affected areas by Tuesday afternoon.

Although Hermine never became a direct threat to the Houston area, tornado, coastal flood and flash flood watches were issued for several southeast Texas counties.

The tornado watch was canceled around 7 p.m. on Tuesday for Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Jackson, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Polk, Walker, Waller, Washington and Wharton counties.

A coastal flood watch is in effect for Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Jackson, Liberty, Matagorda and Wharton counties.

Among the counties under the flash flood watch are Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Jackson, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Walker, Waller, Washington and Wharton. The watch is scheduled to expire 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Matagorda County is also under a tropical storm warning until 7 p.m. Tuesday.

FOX 26 meteorologist Mike Iscovitz said Tuesday that San Antonio was in the path of Hermine and that its northwestern movement left southeast Texas ripe for heavy rainfall.

Continental Airlines announced Tuesday that the movement of Hermine into Texas forced several flight delays and cancellations to and from the state, including the Bush Intercontinental Airport hub. Customers will be allowed a one-time date or time change for flights originally scheduled until Sept. 8 as long as the flights are rescheduled no later than Sept. 15. Full refunds are available by request to anyone whose flight was canceled.

The tropical system quickly developed in the southwest portion of the gulf off the coast of Veracruz, Mexico late Sunday.

A tropical depression carries wind speeds of 23 to 38 miles per hour. A tropical storm has wind speeds of 39 to 73 miles per hour.

As of 7 p.m., the National Weather Service reports that Hermine has winds reaching 35 mph.

Continue to watch FOX 26 -- Your Gulf Coast Weather Authority, and check back with MyFoxHouston.com for updates to this developing story.

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FOX 26 Web Producer Alexander Supgul and FOX 26 Reporters John Donnelly and Damali Keith contributed to this report.