Drenching downpours likely to spoil weekend at the beach on Gulf Coast
The unofficial kickoff to summer could have an unwelcome visitor this weekend.
For folks along the Gulf Coast and in the Southeast, a damp and dreary Memorial Day weekend is forecast, thanks to a slow-moving weather system.
There’s a 60% chance the system will become a tropical depression this weekend over the eastern or central Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday.
If the depression’s wind speeds reach 39 mph, it would become the season’s first named storm and would be called Alberto.
The hurricane center expected the system, which was east of the Yucatan Peninsula in the Caribbean Sea, to slowly move north into the Gulf of Mexico and approach land by late Saturday.
The projected paths of the system range from Louisiana to the west coast of Florida.
Heavy rainfall is possible in western Cuba, the Cayman Islands and much of Florida for the next several days.
AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said, “Regardless of tropical or non-tropical development, this system will continue to produce heavy rainfall that will lead to flooding over parts of Florida and the Deep South and southeastern U.S. during the next several days.”
Weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue said to “prepare for a lot of rainfall all along the Gulf Coast beaches this weekend. Friday-Monday will be very wet. All four days will see substantial amounts.” He warned that “a disorganized, slow-moving, weak tropical low depression or low-end storm can cause catastrophic flooding.”
As much as 7 inches of rain is possible in South Florida, where some areas had more than 17 inches of rain last weekend, the National Weather Service said.
This month, many locations in the Florida peninsula have had one of their top 10 wettest Mays on record, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center.
The Florida governor’s office said it was monitoring the system and encouraged Floridians to prepare “for significant rain and possible flooding.”
The office said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission was positioning the agency’s high-water vehicles for rapid deployment if needed.
Rain from the system will invade the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through the weekend, and Monday — Memorial Day — looks to be the wettest day, AccuWeather said.
Some showers and thunderstorms from a separate weather system are possible in the Northwest and northern Rockies through the weekend.
Most of the central USA will enjoy warm, dry weather, according to AccuWeather.
Contributing: Melissa Nelson Gabriel, Pensacola News-Journal