Humberto, the third hurricane of the Atlantic season, slammed into eastern Texas with winds of 85 miles (135 kilometers) an hour.

Humberto hit the Texas coast east of High Island at about 2 a.m. local time, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on its Web site. At 4 a.m. today, Humberto was about 60 miles northeast of Galveston, and heading north-northeast at 8 mph. The system grew to a hurricane early today, less than 24 hours after developing into a tropical depression. The hurricane is expected to weaken to a tropical storm over land.

Forecasters are also monitoring a system that was about 930 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and had sustained winds of about 35 mph. The depression in the Caribbean may develop into a tropical storm today, the center said in a separate advisory.

Humberto prompted the center to issue a hurricane warning from east of High Island to Cameron in Louisiana. The area includes three major oil refineries around Port Arthur and Beaumont in Texas. Texas Governor Rick Perry put military forces, helicopters and vehicles on standby for search-and-rescue operations as Humberto intensified from a depression to a storm. A state of emergency was declared yesterday in Louisiana.

``Some areas of our state remain saturated by summer floods, and many communities in this storm's projected path are at high risk of dangerous flash flooding,'' Perry said on his Web site. ``We will work with local officials to provide the state resources necessary to ensure the safety of all Texas residents as this storm moves over.''

Rescue Teams

Perry activated 200 soldiers, 50 military vehicles, six Black Hawk helicopters and two water rescue teams, according to his Web site. Boats and rangers from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department were also made available.

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco declared a state of emergency, and warned of the risk of flooding, according to a statement on the Web site of the state's Office for Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Louisiana and neighboring Mississippi were the states worst hit two years ago when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf coast, inundating New Orleans and causing more than $41.1 billion in insured damage.

Oil Refineries

The warning area for Humberto encompasses a Total SA plant producing 240,000 barrels of oil a day, Valero Energy Corp.'s 325,000 barrel-a-day facility and the 285,000 barrel-a-day Motiva Enterprises LLC plant. Motiva is a refining joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Saudi Aramco.

``We are monitoring the weather development, taking action per our hurricane preparedness and response plans as appropriate,'' Shell said today in a statement read over the telephone by a spokeswoman in London. ``Protection of our people and assets, the community and environment are our top priorities.''

Humberto's sustained winds of 85 mph make the system a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. Hurricane-force winds extended 15 miles from the eye of the storm, and tropical storm-force winds of at least 39 mph reached 60 miles.

The system was forecast to dump as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on a track from southwestern to northeastern Louisiana, southeastern Arkansas and into central and northern Mississippi.

``Isolated tornadoes are possible in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana through this afternoon,'' the hurricane center said.