Slow-moving tropical rainstorm to drench Houston to Tallahassee, Florida

Inches of rain will pour down this week along the Interstate 10 corridor of the southeastern United States as a tropical rainstorm creeps along with localized flooding and ends up along the Atlantic coast by the weekend.

The same tropical rainstorm that dumped heavy rain on parts of Texas during the Labor Day weekend will drift eastward across the Gulf Coast region this week and bring enough rain to trigger localized flooding and travel delays, AccuWeather weather meteorologists say. By the weekend, the tropical rainstorm will reach the Atlantic coast.

Over the holiday, 2-8 inches of rain poured down on portions of central Texas and part of the Texas coast. Galveston picked up 6.62 inches in 96 hours as of Tuesday morning. Drought-stricken areas from Del Rio to San Angelo and Midland were drenched with 3-4 inches of rain as the center of the storm moved inland.

As of Thursday morning, the center of the broad area of low pressure remains right along the southern Texas coast. AccuWeather meteorologists are referring to this feature as a tropical rainstorm to raise awareness of its likelihood of triggering flooding problems and its potential to, perhaps, evolve further into a tropical depression or named (tropical) storm.

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Regardless of tropical organization, the tropical rainstorm will spread torrential rainfall eastward this week as it creeps along. Areas near and along the northern Gulf coast can receive at least 4 inches of rain total through Saturday, with the largest amounts expected to be in southern Louisiana. Motorists along the Interstate 10 corridor from eastern Texas to Florida should be prepared for downpours that can restrict visibility and lead to ponding on stretches of highway and secondary roads that drain poorly.

The same pattern is conducive for a few waterspouts to form in coastal areas.

Thursday, the focus of the downpours will be along the central Gulf coast, especially from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. However, some locally heavy rain may extend inland to near Interstate 20 as well. Part of this area has become substantially dry, with pockets of severe to extreme drought in recent weeks.

From Friday to Saturday, the main heavy rain zone will focus on northern Florida, the southern portions of Alabama and Georgia and the South Carolina coast.

Should a consolidated area of low pressure develop, possibly even a tropical depression, then locally gusty winds and severe thunderstorms may accompany the rain in some cases.

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