"Texas Prepares As Harvey Strengthens To Category 2 Storm"

"HOUSTON — Harvey continued to intensify as it steered for the Texas coast, with the forecasters saying early Friday that it had strengthened to a Category 2 storm.

The hurricane with the potential for up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges could be the fiercest such storm to hit the United States in almost a dozen years. Forecasters labeled Harvey a “life-threatening storm” that posed a “grave risk” as millions of people braced for a prolonged battering that could swamp dozens of counties more than 100 miles inland.

Landfall was predicted for late Friday or early Saturday between Port O’Connor and Matagorda Bay, a 30-mile (48-kilometer) stretch of coastline about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi.

Harvey grew quickly Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane. Early Friday, the National Hurricane Center reported it had become a Category 2 hurricane. Fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, it was projected to become a major Category 3 hurricane."

Michael Graczyk reports for the Associated Press August 25, 2017.

SEE ALSO:

Stories on Harvey (Houston Chronicle front page)

Harvey portal page (Corpus Christi Caller-Times)

Hurricane Harvey tracking page (National Hurricane Center)

Hurricane Harvey stories (Associated Press)

"Hurricane Harvey Could Also Be a Major Pollution Disaster" (New Republic)

"Hurricane Harvey Is Going to Slam Into Texas and the National Flood Insurance Program Is a Mess" (Mother Jones)

"Hurricane Harvey Looms, and So Do Trump Cuts to Weather Research" (Newsweek)