Nicholas Threatens Flooding In Texas, Louisiana After Making Landfall As A Hurricane

Nicholas threatens to bring high winds, torrential rain and flooding to eastern Texas and Louisiana after making landfall early Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Residents along the coast from Port Aransas to Port O’Connor face a life-threatening storm surge of up to 5 feet as Nicholas bears down, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm is expected to inundate the region with 6 to 12 inches of rain and isolated totals of 18 inches as it sweeps northeast across the Gulf Coast.

Over 6.5 million people are under flash flood watches that extend from Texas to the Florida Panhandle.

Nicholas came ashore near the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula, about 10 miles west-southwest of Sargent Beach, Texas, at about 1:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, packing 75 mph winds.