Tropical Storm Beta was slowly nearing landfall in Texas late Monday while a new -- or not-so new -- storm formed in the eastern Atlantic: Tropical Storm Paulette.
The National Hurricane Center said Beta was “struggling” thanks to the combo of dry air being pulled into its circulation and wind shear.
Beta had 45 mph winds and was located only 5 miles east of Port O’Connor, Texas, as of 10 p.m. CDT on Monday. It was crawling to the northwest at only 3 mph.
Beta is not a direct threat to Alabama’s coastal areas but will help bring clouds and rain showers and a high risk of rip currents, according to the National Weather Service. Beta’s remnants will bring higher rain chances to the rest of Alabama later this week as well as breezy conditions.
Storm surge and tropical storm warnings continued along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, and Beta is forecast to make landfall in Texas later tonight.
It won’t go far, however. The hurricane center said the storm is expected to stay near the coast and weaken through midweek.
Here are the warnings in effect as of Monday:
* A Storm Surge Warning is in effect from Port Aransas to Sabine Pass, Texas, including Copano Bay, Aransas Bay, San Antonio Bay, Matagorda Bay, Galveston Bay, Sabine Lake and Lake Calcasieu.
* A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Port Aransas, Texas, to Morgan City, La.
Beta could bring 2 to 4 feet of surge to the warning area, which is a decrease from earlier today.
Beta will bring a lot of rain as well, but not as much as has been expected. Five to 10 inches with isolated totals of 15 inches will be possible along the Texas and Louisiana coasts through midweek.
Beta or its remnants will head inland and to the northeast late this week and will raise rain chances across Alabama, according to the National Weather Service.
It could bring 2 to 4 inches of rain across parts of north and central Alabama, and 1 to 2 inches across southern parts of the state into the weekend.
It will also be breezy statewide thanks to the combination of Beta and an area of high pressure to the east of Alabama through the next few days. Areas along the coast could see winds gusts up to 30 mph through today, the weather service said.
THE RETURN OF PAULETTE
The National Hurricane Center announced that Tropical Storm Paulette had returned as of late Monday. Paulette was once a hurricane that hit Bermuda last week. It passed over the island, weakened and became a post-tropical storm.
The central circulation remained, however, and strengthened again into a tropical storm -- a rather strong tropical storm -- late Monday south of the Azores islands in the northeast Atlantic.
Paulette regenerated into a tropical storm late Monday.
As of 10 p.m. CDT Monday, Tropical Storm Paulette was located 300 miles south-southeast of the Azores and was moving east-northeast at 16 mph. It had top winds of 60 mph.
Paulette Part 2 may not hang around all that long. The hurricane center said it should begin to weaken late Tuesday.
ELSEWHERE IN THE ATLANTIC
The National Hurricane Center is also continuing to track Hurricane Teddy, which passed to the east of Bermuda today and was heading away from the island.
Teddy strengthened again late Monday and was a Category 2 storm with 100 mph winds. It was located about 295 miles northeast of Bermuda, which dropped tropical storm warnings for the island.
Teddy will head toward Nova Scotia on Tuesday, and a tropical storm warning has now been issued for part of the coast there.
The hurricane center is also tracking a disturbance near Florida’s Atlantic coast that has a low chance of development on Monday. It is expected to head southward toward Cuba but then move back northward later this week.
In addition to Beta, Paulette and Teddy, the hurricane center is also watching a disturbance near Florida.