Edouard Hammers TX with Flooding and Power Outages, Lightning Kills 3 in FL, Another Victim Survives
Gulf Coast residents are dealing with the remnants of Tropical Storm Edouard. It made landfall along the Texas-Louisiana border packing winds of 60 miles an hour, toppling trees and triggering tens of thousands of power outages.
Flooding was also an issue after up to a foot of rain fell in some areas.
In Beaumont, 80 miles northeast of Houston, downed trees blocked roads, and traffic signals weren't working while underpasses were flooded.
About 32,000 utility customers were without electricity in Jefferson County, which includes Beaumont.
Meanwhile, in the Northeast, severe storms soaked parts of Pennsylvania to New York.
One man lived to tell the story of being struck by a bolt of lightning, which knocked him to the ground.
Lightning survivor Thomas Fahmy said, "It was such a surreal experience. My feet were severely in pain, numbing. I felt like I was walking on balloons. That's how I felt; my feet were so swollen."
Sadly, three others died recently from lightning in Florida. A vacationing father of four was struck while jet skiing near Fort De Soto, and a mother and her young daughter were also killed by lightning in Margate.
Meanwhile, a burst of tropical weather in the Pacific generated three named storms that were still in open waters.
Forecasters said newly formed Hurricane Lowell was expected to remain several hundred miles away from Hawaii for at least the next several days, but swells from the hurricane were likely to impact parts of the islands beginning Wednesday.
Tropical Storm Marie formed in the Pacific Ocean early Tuesday well offshore of southwest Mexico, the center said. Forecasters said it was expected to become a hurricane by Wednesday night.
Also in the Pacific, Hurricane Karina strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm but forecasters said Tuesday it was expected to weaken.
