Edouard dumps heavy rain as it moves inlandStory Highlights
NEW: High water closes small stretch of interstate near Houston, officials say
NEW: Wind knocks down trees, power lines, in Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas
Edouard makes landfall on Texas coast near Louisiana line
Follow Edouard's path with CNN's Hurricane Tracker
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(CNN) -- Rain from Tropical Storm Edouard drenched the Houston, Texas, area Tuesday, closing a small stretch of interstate highway as the storm moved northwest from the Gulf of Mexico
Gary Baldwin makes his way in the rain Tuesday from Tropical Storm Edouard in Galveston, Texas.
1 of 3 Interstate 10 was closed at state Highway 61 near Hankamer, east of Houston, because of high water, a spokeswoman from the Texas Department of Transportation said.
High winds downed trees and power lines in Beaumont and Port Arthur, where from 4 to 6 inches of rain have fallen. Both cities are east of Houston. Winds were clocked at 29 mph in Beaumont, CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras said.
Edouard began weakening once its eye made landfall earlier Tuesday in the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge just west of the Louisiana-Texas border.
The center of the storm at 11 a.m. ET was 40 miles west of Port Arthur and 45 miles north-northeast of Galveston, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving west-northwest at 15 mph. Watch wind, rain pound Galveston »
"A continued west-northwest motion with some reduction in forward speed is expected over the next day or two ... taking Edouard across central Texas," the hurricane center said.
"Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph, with higher gusts. Additional weakening is forecast is Edouard continues moving father inland," it said.
Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said, "We have a lot of wind and rain right now. Of course, we always feel very fortunate when we don't get a direct hit. Galveston is used to tropical storms. Fortunately, this did not become a hurricane.
"However, we are asking our residents and visitors to stay indoors until this rain event and wind have passed over the island, which could be some hours from now. We don't want to become complacent, because these storms can come right around and go back to the Gulf or hang around for a while."
Thomas added, "We're still prepared, and we still have our emergency operations in order and we're carefully monitoring the weather." iReport.com: Is Edouard heading your way?
In 1900, Galveston was nearly wiped out by a hurricane that killed 8,000 people -- the nation's worst natural disaster. Two years later, Galveston built a sea wall 17 feet above sea level.
"It's done a good job since 1902," Thomas said.
Tropical storm-force winds (39 mph to 73 mph ) extended outward up to 70 miles from the center. A National Ocean Service platform near the entrance of Galveston Bay reported sustained winds of 46 mph and a peak gust of 59 mph, the hurricane center said. A weather station near Sabine Pass reported sustained winds of 54 mph, gusting to 61 mph.
The storm was expected to produce rain accumulations of 3 inches to 5 inches in some southwestern Louisiana coastal parishes and southeastern Texas, with isolated amounts up to 10 inches in southeastern Texas. See a projection of Edouard's path »
Tornadoes were possible over sections of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas on Tuesday.
Tropical storm warnings east of Cameron, Louisiana, and west of San Luis Pass, Texas, were discontinued. A warning stayed in effect from Cameron west to San Luis Pass.
A hurricane watch from west of Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to Sargent, Texas, was discontinued.
Flooding from the storm surge -- which was expected to be 2 feet to 4 feet above normal tide levels in some of the warning areas -- gradually will subside Tuesday afternoon, the center said.
