Claudette can bring 20 inches of rain

Video - Hurricane season’s third tropical system on deck"/>

The system’s landing in the Gulf of Mexico could be anywhere from the Texas-Louisiana border to the western part of the Florida panhandle.
Louisiana could see up to 20 inches of rain over three days.
An Air Force reserve unit reconnaissance plane is scheduled to investigate the disruption later Thursday if necessary.

VERO BEACH, Fla .– A ominous weather system slowly trending toward the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday threatened to strengthen in Tropical Storm Claudette before crashing into shore across four states.

The coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Florida panhandle could face heavy rains and flooding on Friday and over the weekend, the senior meteorologist said. AccuWeather, Rob Miller.

Parts of Louisiana could see up to 20 inches of rain over three days.

“A hurricane is unlikely,” Miller said. But he added that “a simple tropical depression or tropical storm can trigger an enormous amount of rain once on earth, and that remains the main concern.”

Although by nightfall Thursday the system remained poorly organized, the National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning for southeastern Louisiana to the Alabama-Florida border.

AccuWeather meteorologists have identified the end of Friday to Saturday as the most likely time, and the Louisiana coastline is the most likely place for the landing. However, the landing can happen anywhere from the Texas-Louisiana border to the western part of the Florida panhandle, Miller said.

NOAA predicts another hurricane season in the Atlantic: Up to 20 named storms

The National Hurricane Center said an Air Force Reserve Unit reconnaissance plane was scheduled to investigate the disruption if necessary.

“The low is expected to start moving north by this afternoon, and a tropical or subtropical low is likely to form by late night or Friday,” the hurricane center warned. “Regardless of development, a high risk of reverse currents is expected by Friday, with the potential for very heavy rains, a few brief tornadoes, heavy waves and minor coastal flooding this weekend. “

Forecasters urge residents not to focus solely on the intended landing point, as the impact of tropical storms is often spread out.

“Since the southwest wind shear is already affecting the feature… much and perhaps all of the showers will occur on the east side of the storm’s center and could extend for hundreds of kilometers,” he said. Miller said.

Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate from the upper Texas coast to the Florida panhandle on Friday, with the potential for a tropical storm for some time this weekend.

“The storm, no matter how strong, has the potential to produce precipitation of 1 to 2 inches per hour over a period of several hours,” Miller said.

Earlier this week:Tropical Storm Bill roars off the coast of Carolina as hurricane season wakes up in the Atlantic Basin

Abnormal temperatures are baking the western United States to triple digits. These heat waves could become the new normal.

The heaviest precipitation was forecast for southern and eastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southwestern Alabama and the western part of the Florida panhandle. This area has the highest potential to collect 8 to 12 inches of rain over a 24 to 48 hour period – and possibly 20 inches in 72 hours.

However, a large 2- to 8-inch area of rain is possible from near the Texas-Louisiana border to the eastern part of the Florida Panhandle and possibly as far north as the southern Tennessee border.

Earlier in the week, forecasters had been monitoring three disturbances at the same time, one of which briefly became Tropical Storm Bill off the coast of Carolina.

This hurricane season could result in a record sixth consecutive year of above normal activity. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted that up to 20 named storms will develop, starting with tropical storms with winds of 39 mph or more. Storms become hurricanes when winds reach 74 mph.

Up to 10 hurricanes could form, NOAA said, with three to five potentially “major” hurricanes with wind speeds of 111 mph or more. An average season typically generates seven hurricanes and peaks in August and September.

Last year, NOAA predicted that 13 to 19 named tropical storms would occur, of which six to 10 would be hurricanes. Instead, a record 30 named storms formed, including 14 hurricanes, of which seven were major.

Bacon brought from Arlington, Virginia

Leave a Comment Cancel reply