Tropical Storm Francine forms in the Gulf; Hurricane Warning issued for Louisiana coast

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Tropical Storm Francine formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday.

It is expected to become a hurricane before it reaches the Texas and Louisiana coastlines on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Francine has maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, as of the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. update. Its center is located about 150 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande.

The following watches and warnings are in effect:

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for…

• High Island Texas to the Mouth of the Mississippi River Louisiana
• Vermilion Bay

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for…

• The Louisiana coast from Sabine Pass eastward to Morgan City

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for…

• Mouth of the Mississippi River Louisiana to the
  Mississippi/Alabama Border
• Lake Maurepas
• Lake Pontchartrain

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for…

• The Louisiana coast from Morgan City eastward to Grand Isle

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…

• Morgan City to Grand Isle
• High Island to Sabine Pass

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…

• Barra del Tordo to the Mouth of the Rio Grande
• Mouth of the Rio Grande to High Island Texas
• East of Grand Isle Louisiana to Mouth of the Pearl River,
  including metropolitan New Orleans
• Lake Pontchartrain
• Lake Maurepas

“It is moving mainly to the north at 5 mph, which is very slow,” Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Eric Stone said. “Francine will have plenty of time to strengthen over the extra warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico the next couple days, so we are expecting Francine to become a hurricane by Wednesday.”

Francine is expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rainfall to the region, with some areas receiving up to a foot of rain, from the coast of far northeast Mexico northward along portions of the southern Texas coast, the far upper Texas coast and across southern Louisiana and southern Mississippi into Thursday morning.

NHC tracking disturbances

Elsewhere in the tropics, an area of low pressure in the central tropical Atlantic is expected to form into a tropical depression within the next few days. The disturbance is expected to begin moving westward-northwestward by the middle of the week.

According to NHC, formation chance is 60% within the next 48 hours, and 60% within the next seven days.

Located several hundred miles west-southwest of Cabo Verde Island, a disturbance is producing rainfall and thunderstorms in the area. The disturbance is expected to interact with another tropical wave within the next few days, according to NHC.

A tropical depression could form during the week as the systems merge. The chance of development is 30% in the next 48 hours and 70% within the next seven days.

“The other two waves in the eastern Atlantic don’t appear to have any impact on Florida or the U.S.,” Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Eric Stone said.

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