India, Sept. 1 -- Tropical Storm Edouard was strengthening rapidly over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and could reach hurricane strength before coming ashore near the Texas-Louisiana border later in the day, prompting an upgraded Hurricane Watch even as forecasters said the Houston metro area was likely to avoid the storm's worst conditions.

The system, which formed in under 24 hours after being designated Invest 97L, then Potential Tropical Cyclone Five and Tropical Depression Five, had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving west-northwest at 8 mph as of Tuesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center. Landfall was expected near the Texas-Louisiana border sometime between early and mid-afternoon, keeping the centre...