 Tropical Storm Elena was a weak tropical storm that moved ashore along Texas in the 1979 Atlantic hurricane season . The sixth tropical storm of the season , Elena developed from a tropical wave to the south of Louisiana on August 29 . It tracked generally west @-@ northwest , strengthening little before making landfall on Matagorda Island on September 1 as a minimal tropical storm . Elena moved inland , and it degenerated into a tropical depression . It turned to the northwest , and it dissipated on September 4 .
 Elena caused significant rainfall in Texas . A total of 16.4 in (417 mm) of