A weather formation that was threatening to turn into a tropical storm over the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, did just that. It has been named Tropical Storm Bill, and it is now on its way to Texas.

Shell yesterday evacuated non-essential personnel from its offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Reuters has today said that production from offshore oil platforms has not been affected in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico but several oil companies, including Chevron Corp, and the above mentione Shell, evacuated non-essential offshore workers.

USAF Reconnaissance aircraft has found that Tropical Storm Bill is a little stronger as it approaches the Texas coast – maximum sustained winds have increased to near 60 mph.

A Tropical Storm Warning continues from Baffin Bay to High Island, Texas. Tropical storm conditions are expected to reach the coast within the warning area within the next hour or two. On the forecast track, the center of Bill is expected to make landfall in the warning area along the Texas coast later this morning local time and move inland over south-central Texas this afternoon and tonight.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the combination of a storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters. It added that the water could reach the following heights above ground if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide: Upper Texas coast…2 to 4 feet, Western Louisiana coast…1 to 2 feet.

Tropical Storm Bill is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 4 to 8 inches over eastern Texas and eastern Oklahoma and 2 to 4 inches over western Arkansas and southern Missouri, with possible isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches in eastern Texas.

Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com

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