Tropical Storm Watches Issued For Texas | Weather.com
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- Tropical storm watches have been issued for parts of Texas and Mexico.
- This system will move west toward Mexico or South Texas.
- Flooding rain, coastal flooding, gusty winds, high surf and rip currents will affect the western Gulf Coast of the U.S., especially Texas.
- Flooding rain is also likely in parts of Mexico and Central America.
The National Hurricane Center has designated the disturbance in the southwest Gulf of Mexico as Potential Tropical Cyclone One, and it’s expected to bring heavy rain, coastal flooding, rip currents and high surf from Texas and Louisiana to Mexico over the coming days.
Here’s where this system is located now and where it’s headed: The disturbance is centered about 380 miles southeast of La Pesca, Mexico and is moving northwest at 7 miles per hour.
If the system strengthens to a tropical storm, the first name in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season list is Alberto.
This system will gain some modest strength as it heads toward eastern Mexico and South Texas. Its center will cross the coast of Mexico sometime Thursday. However, impacts will arrive well ahead of landfall.
(Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience.)
Here’s where tropical storm alerts are in effect: A tropical storm watch has been issued for the Texas coast from Port O’Connor southward to the mouth of the Rio Grande. The government of Mexico has issued a watch for the northeastern coast of Mexico south of the mouth of the Rio Grande to Boca de Catan.
A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area in the next 48 hours.
Expected U.S. impacts: Heavy rainfall, especially from Texas to Louisiana, will be the most widespread impact from this system regardless of how well organized it becomes. Flash flooding is a possibility in some areas, including in Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Houston and San Antonio, where rainfall totals could be 3 to 8 inches.
Here’s a general timeline for the heaviest rain.
- Tuesday-Tuesday night: Coastal Texas, including Houston, to southwest Louisiana.
- Wednesday-Wednesday night: Coastal Texas to central Texas, including Houston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Austin.
Rainfall isn’t the only expected impact.
Persistent east winds will generate swells leading to high surf, dangerous rip currents and coastal flooding, particularly in Texas and Louisiana. This threat will also persist for several days during the week. Low-lying areas could be inundated by seawater at times of high tide.
Check back with us at weather.com for important updates to this forecast as the details become clearer in the days ahead.
Mexico, Central America face serious flood threat, too: This tropical system was partially spawned by a broader area of lower pressure across southern Mexico and Central America, something meteorologists refer to as a Central American Gyre, or CAG. These expansive swirls can spawn or influence tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea or eastern Pacific Ocean both early and late in hurricane season.
The aforementioned Central American Gyre is a notoriously prolific rainfall generator.
This large spin will wrap moisture from the eastern Pacific into southern Mexico and Central America for days.
Rainfall totals through the end of this week will likely be measured in multiple feet in parts of extreme southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and western Nicaragua. This will lead to life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in mountainous terrain.
Four years ago, also in June, the combination of a CAG, eastern Pacific Tropical Storm Amanda and Gulf Tropical Storm Cristobal dumped up to 42 inches of rain in El Salvador. Forty-three lives were lost from the flooding in Mexico and Central America.
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