A tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico has strengthened into storm Harold and is expected to strengthen further before it reaches the Texas coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Tuesday.

The storm, located about 195 miles (310 km) east southeast of Port Mansfield Texas, is packing maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (70 kph), the Miami-based forecaster said. (Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens)