Posted 8/05/2008 01:58:00 PM by Douglas

Edouard was a big fat nothing.

Tropical Storm Edouard hit the Texas Gulf coast east of Galveston on Tuesday with strong winds and heavy rain, but did little more than soak the travelers who came to relax on the tourist town's beaches.

The storm made landfall east of Galveston and west of the Louisiana border, between the small coastal town of High Island and Sabine Pass, and was weakening as it headed inland. Though forecasters had feared it could become a hurricane and both Texas and Louisiana had made emergency preparations, winds never reached hurricane strength of 74 mph. No major damage was reported.

In Galveston, a few surfers were in the water and some people were riding bikes at the beach as the rains approached.

"We are just out here enjoying it, trying to feel that good breeze that's coming in," said Robert Lemon, 45, of Sweeny, who said he was hoping the storm passed quickly so he could do some fishing.

On Bolivar Peninsula, a thin strip of land northeast of Galveston that separates Galveston Bay from the Gulf of Mexico, emergency workers were ready but had little to do. A few sat at the Gilchrist fire station amid emergency supplies, bottled water and air mattresses. But none of the 700 or so residents had called for help

Of course, the media did its job of trying to scare the crap out of us, but the Houston area didn't even get a substantial rain out of it. I heard one of the Weather Suits on TV this morning claim "Edouard is following the line of the predicted path exactly." Well, not really. Check out the NHC predictions. All of them up to 12 hours before landfall predicted it going straight to Houston. Then it didn't. So don't go patting yourselves on the back too hard. You're not going to get to cry wolf forever before people stop listening to you.