By Marlyn Montilla
Jun 18, 2024, 09:30 AM EDT
An area of low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico threatens heavy rainfall in the south of the Latin American country and on the Texas coast, and could become the first Atlantic tropical storm of the hurricane season, reported the National Hurricane Center (NHC). of the United States.
The system is in the Bay of Campeche, and if it strengthens, it would become Tropical Storm Alberto, the first name designated for the hurricane season, which began on June 1 and ends in November.
The large system is located about 380 miles southeast of La Pesca, Mexico, and 470 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, so a tropical storm watch has been issued for the next 48 hours along the Texas coast. , from Port O’Connor southward, to the mouth of the Rio Grande.
Likewise, the Mexican government issued a tropical storm warning for the northeast coast of Mexico, south of the mouth of the Rio Grande to Boca Catán.
The low pressure is moving northeast with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and moving at a forward speed of 7 mph.
It is estimated that this movement will continue and then experience a turn towards the west-northeast this Tuesday night or Wednesday.
“The system is likely to approach the western Gulf Coast on Wednesday night,” the NHC said in its bulletin.
Regardless of its development, several more days of “heavy rains” are expected in the southern parts of Mexico and Central America, precipitation that can cause “life-threatening flooding.”
Additionally, heavy rain is expected to reach Texas and Louisiana by mid-week.
The potential number one tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season will dump rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches across northeastern Mexico.
The Atlantic Ocean will have an above-average hurricane season in 2024, with the probability of up to 13 hurricanes, of which up to seven may be larger, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States. .
The weather forecast reflects that this time a total of between 17 and 25 storms may form, this means that the winds will be sustained above 38 mph.
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