Tropical Storm Francine is in the Gulf of Mexico: the latest

Tropical Storm Francine was brewing in the Gulf of Mexico as of Tuesday morning, and the National Weather Service expects that it will become a hurricane with a “life-threatening” storm surge by the end of the day.

Early Tuesday morning the storm was churning in the Gulf just southwest of Brownsville, Texas and was moving northwards. According to the Texas A&M Emergency System, Francine was expected to bring heavy rainfall and flash flooding to communities along the Texas coast. This Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott activated state emergency response resources in preparation for the storm.

“Texas stands ready to provide all available resources needed to support Texans as a severe storm system begins to move along the Gulf Coast that will bring potential flash flooding threats and heavy rain,” said the governor.

When he made the announcement, “the minimum central pressure,” of the storm “was 1003 mb with maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph,” and by Tuesday, its “minimum central pressure was 990 mb with maximum sustained winds of about 65 mph.”

“Texans are urged to take the necessary precautions for potential tropical weather, including remaining weather aware, monitoring road conditions, and having an emergency plan to ensure the safety of themselves and their loved ones,” said Abbott. “Texas will continue to closely monitor weather conditions to protect the well-being of Texans.”

He also said there is potential for up to 8-10 inches of rainfall in some areas of the Texas coast as well as coastal flooding and damaging winds. Flash flooding is also expected in southern Louisiana.

Yesterday, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency ahead of Francine’s expected landfall.

“Francine is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane before an expected landfall in southern Louisiana on Wednesday,” according to the NWS.
“As the system approaches the central Gulf Coast and eventually pushes inland across Louisiana, an increased threat of life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-fore winds, and considerable flash flooding is anticipated.”

As of Thursday, the storm is forecast to move further north into the Mid-South and then weaken. Still, continued concerns about flash flooding in Tennessee and neighboring regions is expected.

“A stationary front extending eastward from the center of the storm over the next few days will also focus areas of numerous, slow-moving thunderstorms capable of containing intense rainfall rates between the Florida Peninsula and central Gulf Coast,” the NWS said. “Residents are reminded to remain weather-ready and never drive across flooded roadways.”

Updates on the storm are available here .