Hurricane Alex tracking to miss Gulf of Mexico’s BP oil spill, hit southern Texas

Hurricane Alex is expected to make landfall in southern Texas and northern Mexico on July 1, possibly as a Category 2 storm, reports the National Hurricane Center.
Alex is the first hurricane of the 2010 season, and the first to occur in the Atlantic in June since 1995, said Guy Carpenter.
While the storm is forecast to miss major oil production facilities, waves as high as 12 feet are hampering efforts to control damage left by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a release from AIR Worldwide says.
As of June 30, the storm packed winds of about 130 km-h. The NHC said hurricane-force winds extend 35 km from the centre of the storm while tropical storm-force winds extend 235 km.
The storm is expected to bring between six and 12 inches of rain to southern portions of northeastern Mexico and southern Texas, with isolated pockets receiving up to 20 inches.
“The storm’s slow forward motion will exacerbate the effects of the precipitation and increase the risk of flooding across broad portions of the region,” said Dr. Peter Dailey, AIR’s director of atmospheric science. “These rains could cause flash floods and mudslides… Stretches of the coast to the north of the landfall location can expect storm surges of three to six feet above normal tide.”