Tropical Storm Arlene deluges Mexico

July 01, 2011|Associated Press

VERACRUZ, Mexico - The Atlantic season’s first tropical storm hit Mexico’s Central Gulf Coast yesterday, hurling heavy rains over a wide swath.

The heart of Tropical Storm Arlene struck land near Cabo Rojo, a cape just off the mainland between the cities of Tampico and Tuxpan. It had maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour and was moving inland at 8 miles per hour, said the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Coastal towns appear to have escaped serious damage from the initial storm. Tree branches fell, water accumulated on some streets, and a neighborhood of Tuxpan lost electricity, civil protection authorities reported.

Officials in the storm’s path had prepared for flooding by closing schools, mobilizing emergency medical units, and preparing evacuation shelters.

In the mountains, authorities were on guard for possible landslides.

Tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 205 miles from the storm center, but mainly over the Gulf of Mexico, away from land.

Mexico’s national weather service said 6 inches of rain had fallen over a 24-hour period in northern Veracruz state. Some mountainous areas inland could get up to 15 inches of rain, the hurricane center said.

Forecasters said south Texas also could get rain before Arlene begins to dissipate today.

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