Tropical Storm Francine is forming in the Gulf and is headed towards US landfall as an apocalypse
Francine was the 6th named storm in the 2024 Atlantic season of hurricanes, and the first named storm since Ernesto disappeared on August. 20.
Tropical Storm Francine formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and could be a low-end Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday, one headed toward a landfall on the Upper Texas or southwestern Louisiana coasts.
A warning about hurricanes was issued for parts that are along the Louisiana coast, which means it is possible to experience hurricane conditions within the next 48-hour period.
The tropical storm watches were issued earlier in Southern Texas, from Port Mansfield southward to south of the Rio Grande River, which implies that tropical storms could be expected across the coast on Tuesday evening. The tropical storm warning extends southward all along the Mexican coast up to Barra del Tordo.
The central region of the system was estimated at 245 miles to the south-east from the mouth of Rio Grande and about 480 miles to the south to Cameron, Louisiana, on Monday morning. With sustained winds of fifty mph Francine only moved at 5 mph in a direction north-northwesterly.
Francine will be the six named storm of the season.
Francine was the 6th named storm in the 2024 Atlantic season of hurricanes, and the first named storm since Ernesto was gone in August. 20.
The system is among three hurricane centers monitoring. Another is located in the middle of tropical Atlantic and is predicted to have 60% chance of developing into a tropical storm within the next 48 hours. A storm further east has a 60% probability of developing in the coming week.
The forecast of the center predicts Francine to become a lower-end Category-1 storm on Wednesday, with an estimated 85mph winds.The storm is predicted to bring between 4 and 8 inches of rain along the coastal area. The amounts of up to 12 inches are likely in some areas of the northeastern region of Mexico as well along Texas as well as Louisiana coasts until Thursday and could pose a flash flood threat, according to the center.
Francine is expected to move faster towards the northeast by late Tuesday when it will meet an icy front on the Gulf Coast. It will be off the Texas coast and could be heading towards the possibility of landing in southern Texas as well as the Louisiana coast by Wednesday morning, according to Donald Jones, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Lake Charles, Louisiana in an evening briefing on Sunday.
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Storm could be a Category 2
Jones has urged residents in Southwestern Louisiana to keep an eye on the weather, and said there is a possibility that this storm could be a Category 2 storm. The first landfall is expected to be Wednesday night on the Southwestern Louisiana coastal area, Jones said.
The water temperatures in the Gulf are higher than usual and could contribute to the development of hurricanes, Jones said. When the system has a clearly defined central area, the hurricane center believes that it is possible to see steady growth. The storm will be located in that hot Gulf with an area with plenty of humidity, the hurricane center noted, but it there is a possibility of the possibility of an increased wind shear as well as somewhat drier air, which could stop any significant strengthening.
“We’re going to be looking at 8 to 12 inches of rainfall south of Interstate 10 in southwestern Louisiana,” Jones stated.
The greatest threat is flooding Jones said. The path of tropical storm changed just a bit to the east Sunday and may shift further towards the east, he added.
