Tropical Storm Hits Texas Coast With a Punch

HOUSTON —  Tropical Storm Dean whipped the Texas coast with 45-m.p.h. winds and much-needed rain Sunday after picking up some punch in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dean later was downgraded to a tropical depression when its winds dropped below 39 m.p.h.

The storm spawned at least one tornado in Cameron Parish, La., in the southwestern part of the state, authorities said. No damage was immediately reported.

Dean prompted tropical storm warnings from Corpus Christi into Louisiana, with flash-flood warnings for the Houston area.

“It’s on the moderate side. It’s not the kind that you’re battening down the hatches for and running for the hills,” said Bill Read, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. “But I wouldn’t be doing any kind of water sports activities.”

Heavy rain on Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula caused minor street flooding. Tidal surges were up to five feet above normal.

Rainfall was expected to total as much as 10 inches by today.

Galveston City Manager Doug Matthews said no island residents were asked to evacuate.

The stormy weather brought a break from a heat wave that gave some areas of the state record highs above 100 last week. On Sunday, temperatures in the Houston-Galveston area stayed in the 80s. It also helped relieve a South Texas drought.

In Chicago, where a heat wave was blamed in more than 500 deaths earlier this month, officials have declared a “heat emergency,” the most drastic step of a recently enacted three-stage plan to deal with heat risks.

Chicago temperatures reached 96 degrees.

Extra ambulance crews were mobilized and cooling centers were opened. Volunteers staffed telephone banks to contact the elderly and ailing. City swimming pools were opened for extended hours, and city officials, including Mayor Richard Daley, pleaded with residents to check on family members and neighbors who might be vulnerable to the stifling heat.