Texas grocery store chain H-E-B is limiting its hours due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Laura. All Houston-area stores, including the H-E-B-owned Central Market and Mi Tienda locations, are closing today, Wednesday, August 26, at 6 p.m. The closings include onsite store gas stations and pharmacies.

Stores located closer to the Gulf Coast are closed as of noon:

• Baytown
• Baytown Joe V’s Smart Shop
• Mont Belvieu

H-E-B is posting future announcements on changes to store hours on its Hurricane Laura Newsroom web page.

The early closings are intended to keep employees and customers alike safe and off the roads during Hurricane Laura’s landfall. Currently, that is expected to happen close to the Texas-Louisiana border. According to NPR, Hurricane Laura may generate an “unsurvivable” storm surge that extends as far as 30 miles inland.

The center of Houston in downtown is located approximately 112 miles away from the border, with the outlying eastern suburban towns, such as Baytown, about 20 miles closer. For Hurricane Laura’s current location and track, visit the NOAA Hurricane website.

Phaedra Cook

Phaedra Cook has written about Houston’s restaurant and bar scene since 2010. She was a regular contributor to My Table magazine (now closed) and was the lead restaurant critic for the Houston Press for two years, eventually being promoted to food editor. Cook founded Houston Food Finder in November 2016 and has been its editor and publisher ever since.