HOUSTON (AP) — A tropical depression in the southwest Gulf of Mexico is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm this week and reach the U.S. as a hurricane after bringing heavy rains to Mexico and Texas, the National Weather Service said Sunday.
The storm, located about 340 miles (545 kilometers) south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande, is expected to have maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph) on Sunday as it moves slowly northwestward. Forecasters warned that while it was too early to determine the storm’s exact path and impacts, strong winds and a storm surge were possible along the coastlines of North Texas and Louisiana starting Tuesday night.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the state’s emergency responders to be more prepared and warned of the possibility of flash flooding and heavy rains.
“The State of Texas will continue to closely monitor weather conditions to protect the health of Texans,” Governor Abbott said in a statement.
Parts of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana are expected to see “significant” rainfall in mid-to-late this week, Donald Jones, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, Louisiana, said during a forecast briefing Saturday night.
The tropical disturbance follows an unusually quiet August and early September in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30. Jones said the season is on track to peak on Tuesday.
So far this season there have been five named hurricanes, including: Hurricane Beryl, About 3 million homes and businesses in Texas lost power in July, mostly in the Houston area. Experts One of the most hurricane-producing seasons in the Atlantic For the record.
The next storm to be named will be called Francine.
in The report was released last week.Researchers from Colorado State University cited several reasons for the lack of hurricane activity during the current hurricane season, including extremely high temperatures aloft, making the atmosphere stable, and excessively strong easterly winds in the eastern Atlantic.
“However, we expect an above-normal season overall, as more favourable large-scale conditions are expected around mid-September,” the report said.
Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Outlook updated But the Atlantic hurricane season was expected to be very active, with forecasters revising their projections for named storms from 17-25 to 17-24.
