A Tropical Storm Watch is issued from San Luis Pass to High Island.
A Hurricane Watch is issued from High Island eastward to Grand Isle, Louisiana.
In the Greater Houston area tropical storm conditions can bring northeast winds 35 to 45 mph with seas from 14 to 19 feet.
A Storm Surge Watch is in effect from High Island to the Alabama-Florida border.
Hurricane Delta swept across north stretches of the Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday morning as a dangerous Cat 2 storm. The National Hurricane Center says top winds at landfall were around 110 mph.
Wednesday afternoon Hurricane Delta will move back into the Gulf of Mexico where it is expected to strengthen to a Cat 3.
Landfall in the U.S. is expected Friday in Louisiana, based on current models. Storm surge and hurricane watches have been issued in states along the northern Gulf Coast.
Four to eight inches of rain is possible for coastal communities, with up to 12 inches possible in some isolated areas.
From the National Hurricane Center:
DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK
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At 1000 AM CDT (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Delta was located near latitude 21.4 North, longitude 88.0 West. Delta is moving toward the northwest near 17 mph (28 km/h).A northwestward motion with a reduction in forward speed is expected over the next 24 hours.A north-northwestward motion is expected by late Thursday, and a faster northward to north-northeastward motion is forecast on Friday and Friday night.On the forecast track, the center of Delta will move over the southern Gulf of Mexico this afternoon, be over the southern or central Gulf of Mexico through Thursday, and approach the northern Gulf coast within the hurricane watch area on Friday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 105 mph (165 km/h) with higher gusts.Re-strengthening is forecast when the hurricane moves over the southern and central Gulf of Mexico through Thursday, and Delta is expected to become a major hurricane again.Some weakening is is forecast as Delta approaches the northern Gulf coast on Friday.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles (45 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles (205 km).
The estimated minimum central pressure is 975 mb (28.80 inches).
photo: National Weather Service