Well, the National Hurricane Center moved the track back south a bit now, raised the chance of it being a hurricane slightly, and the storm has sped up. Next major update is 10 am CDT.

10 AM Update : It looks very much like the forecast is solidifying around a high-end tropical storm. Maximum winds have actually dropped to 45mph and the pressure has remained steady. High level winds blew the top off overnight, but it is expected to reform and strengthen later today and tonight. The track is moving a bit south again, which means Galveston Bay would take a direct hit from the right front quadrant (the strongest) if Edouard follows a perfect centerline track. Expected rainfall is in the area of eight inches, locally higher. Localized flooding will result from that, but not any city-wide disasters.

1 PM Update: Only a position update, other information remains the same. Outer rain bands hitting Louisiana; 3 to 5 inches of rain expected there. Pressure’s edged down to 1001 mb.

Some links y0u might want:
Chron’s Sci Guy
Weather Nerd
Weather.com for Houston
Weather Underground

However, I beg to differ with SciGuy on one issue:

What does this mean? The winds should cause little structural damage, but they will be strong enough such that only emergency vehicles should be on the road. I would expect most non-emergency businesses in Harris County to be closed on Tuesday.

Bill White obviously disagrees, and I think he’s right:

The City of Houston has begun preparations for the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Edouard, expected sometime tomorrow along the upper Texas coast.

It is important to note that the City is open for business as usual both today and tomorrow. All employees are expected to remain at their jobs today and report to work as usual tomorrow.

We will continue to monitor conditions throughout the day and night and expect to have a further update shortly after 4:30 p.m. today.

Meanwhile, supervisors are encouraged to review the City’s Administrative Procedures 2-3, pertaining to Severe Weather and other Emergency Conditions.

Employees should check with their supervisors to confirm their designation as “essential personnel” and “non-essential personnel.”

Bill White,
Mayor

This is a minimal storm that may not even make hurricane status, and to call for business closures and all non-official traffic to stay off the streets is nothing but over-hype on the part of the press.