Nicholas, now tropical storm, dumps rain along Gulf Coast

HOUSTON (AP) — Tropical Storm Nicholas hit the Texas coast as a hurricane and dumped more than a foot of rain along the the same area swamped by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The National Hurricane Center says the storm made landfall on the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula and was soon downgraded to a tropical storm. It’s also drenching storm-battered Louisiana and bringing the potential for life-threatening flash floods across the Deep South. Galveston, Texas, has seen nearly 14 inches of rain so far, while the flood-prone Houston area has received more than 6 inches of rain. Nicholas is the 14th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.