Forecast map courtesy of WeatherNation
Currently centered over the Yucatan peninsula, Tropical Depression Cristobal is forecast to re-enter the southern Gulf of Mexico on Friday, then progress rapidly towards the Louisiana coast. While this rapid movement will likely prevent the storm from reaching Category 1 hurricane status, Cristobal is still expected to be a strong tropical storm when it hits the coast on early Monday morning.
The biggest impacts of the storm will be coastal surge and flooding from heavy rains. Tropical storm winds are possible from the western Florida panhandle westward to High Island, Texas. Anywhere from 2 to 4 inches per hour could occur in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi coastal areas, with 10 inches total before the storm remnants move into Arkansas.
2020 is already proving, as forecasted, to be one of the most active storm seasons in decades. Cristobal is the earliest third named storm ever. The typical average for ‘C’ storms is August 13th, and the previous earliest was June 5th.
