Tropical Storm Nicholas slows, dumps rain along Gulf Coast

By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press

SURFSIDE BEACH, Texas (AP) — Tropical Storm Nicholas slowed to a crawl over the Houston area after blowing ashore as a hurricane, knocking out power to a half-million homes and businesses. The National Hurricane Center says the storm made landfall on the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula early Tuesday 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. Nicholas is expected to weaken to a tropical depression Tuesday night. The storm has dumped more than a foot of rain along the same area swamped by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, but it’s a fraction of what fell during Harvey.