Tropical storm forms in oil area of Gulf of Mexico

The fifth tropical storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season formed near a major oil and gas producing area of the northern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Tropical Storm Edouard, located around 80 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River by 11 p.m. EDT, was expected to come ashore at close to hurricane strength in a few days on the Texas coast, the Miami-based hurricane center said.

One of the computer models used to predict storm paths and intensities indicated Edouard could become a hurricane, with winds in excess of 74 miles per hour (119 km per hour), the hurricane center said. But its official forecast called for Edouard to top out at 69 mph (111 kph).

The center issued a hurricane watch, meaning hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours, for the coastline west of Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to Port O'Connor, Texas.

A tropical storm warning, meaning tropical storm conditions could be expected within 24 hours, was extended westward from the Mississippi River to Cameron, Louisiana.

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