1 Dead As Harvey Continues To Churn Over Texas, Photos

Though Hurricane Harvey weakened to a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned of additional downpours forecast to drench already flooded communities in the coming hours and days.

"Our biggest concern is between 20 and 30 more inches of rain in areas ranging from Corpus Christi over to Houston," Abbott said at a press conference Saturday afternoon. "We want to do everything we possibly can to keep people out of rising water."

Abbott said search-and-rescue missions and cleanup efforts have already begun in some parts of Texas, after Harvey slammed into the state's Gulf Coast Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane, unleashing a dangerous wrath of torrential rain and 130 mph winds. By Saturday afternoon, Harvey had gradually downgraded to a tropical storm as maximum sustained winds dropped to 65 mph, but the National Weather Service still warned of a "serious flooding event unfolding" inland over Texas, as well as "torrential rains."

As of 4 p.m. local time, the storm had barely moved for hours, with the eye hovering about 45 miles away from Victoria, Texas.

Abbott, who visited with evacuees from the Corpus Christi area in San Antonio, said the displaced residents he met with are in "strong" spirits despite the damage done and the ominous forecast.

"They are what I call typical Texans. They were resilient, they were strong, they were strong-spirited, they were happy," he told reporters at the press conference Saturday afternoon. "They were just happy to be there and be alive."

But the Harvey has already proven to be deadly. In the Texas coastal city of Rockport, one person was confirmed dead Saturday afternoon as a result of the storm. More victims are likely, officials there said.

Although Harvey is projected to churn over southeastern Texas through the weekend, residents in hard-hit communities re-emerged Saturday to assess the damage and risk their lives to save others after a tumultuous night of rain, wind and reported tornadoes.

Here's what you need to know about the strongest storm to hit the Lone Star State in decades:
What's ahead: More rain, flooding, tornadoes

What can Texans expect from this storm as it hovers over the region? Rain -- and lots of it.

At 2:30 a.m. local time Saturday, as much as 9.6 inches of rain had already fallen in Texas. Around 9:30 a.m. local time Saturday, 14.46 inches of rain had accumulated in an area in Austwell and more than 10 inches was recorded in Fulshear, according to the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi.

Although Harvey is expected to weaken further, it will also slow down and meander between Victoria and San Antonio through the weekend.

"We are still expecting 25 to 30 inches [of rain] across southeast Texas," ABC News Meteorologist Daniel Manzo said Saturday. "This is in addition to what has already fallen this morning."

Flash-flood watches and warnings were in effect Saturday for much of southeastern Texas. Around 40 inches of rain is expected in some areas.

The latest forecast track shows Harvey heading back toward the coastline and interacting with the warm waters of the Gulf Coast early next week. This means areas that were already hit hard along the Texas coast should expect even more rain and wind, setting the stage for potentially catastrophic flooding.

Harvey is projected to take off Wednesday heading northeast and moving further inland into Texas, but staying west of Houston.

The storm is an evolving system, and its track could change.

Tornadoes are also a concern as there is a high risk of them in the region.

A tornado watch was issued Saturday in the early morning hours for parts of Texas and Louisiana. The warning was expanded inland and extended through much of Saturday, according to ABC News meteorologists.