Tropical Storm Cindy maintained its 60 mile per hour maximum winds with the 4 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center, but also suggested than number was "generous" as wind shear continued to batter the storm.
"Cindy does not look much like a tropical cyclone on satellite images this morning," read the accompanying discussion from the NHC. "The deep convection is well-removed to the north and northeast of an exposed low-level center, and there is a rather linear north-south band of convection several hundred miles east of the center. Water vapor imagery indicates that an upper-level low is located a couple of hundred miles to the northwest of Cindy's center, suggesting that the system has at least some subtropical characteristics."
"Global model forecasts indicate significant shear, with some mid-level dry air wrapping around the circulation, over the next day or so. These factors, along with the current lack of convection near the center, should result in some weakening of the system prior to landfall, perhaps more so than indicated in the NHC forecast," the discussion continued.
For now, Cindy is expected to remain a tropical storm before making landfall early on Thursday near the Texas/Louisiana border. A tropical storm warning runs along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Alabama.
Closer to home, a flash flood watch is still in effect through Thursday night. A tornado watch remains up through 10 a.m. Wednesday.