Gulf Coast braces for potential hurricane

Newly formed Tropical Storm Delta is forecast to make landfall as a hurricane in the northern Gulf Coast later this week, forecasters warned, while Tropical Storm Gamma killed at least six people after coming ashore in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula over the weekend.

The National Hurricane Center upgraded a tropical depression to Tropical Storm Delta Monday morning. The storm, which was 160 miles southsouthwest of Jamaica Monday evening , is on track to reach the Gulf Coast as a hurricane around Friday.

“Strengthening is expected during the next few days,” the Hurricane Center said, warning that Delta could develop into a hurricane by early Tuesday.

Once it approaches the Gulf Coast, “there is a risk of dangerous storm surge, wind and rainfall hazards along the coast from Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle,” the center said.

AccuWeather senior meteorologist Randy Adkins said that “residents across the Gulf Coast from southeast Texas to Florida should be prepared for a potential hurricane landfall at the end of the week or early next weekend.”

If it makes landfall, it would be the 10th named storm to hit the U.S. in a single season, which would be a record. 2020 already has tied 1916 for nine landfalling tropical systems in the U.S., AccuWeather said.

The tropical storm also is the 25th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season – more than double the average of a usual season. The season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.

Delta breaks the record for the earliest 25th named storm.

Delta had top winds of 70 mph as of 5 p.m. ET Monday and was about 245 miles south-southeast of Grand Cayman. It was moving near 8 mph, on track to hit the Cayman Islands early Tuesday and approach western Cuba Tuesday afternoon or evening before moving into the Gulf on Wednesday.

A tropical storm warning was issued for the Cayman Islands, and a hurricane warning was in effect for western Cuba and portions of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

Two major hurricanes have formed this season: Laura and Teddy reached Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale.

Laura caused widespread damage in Louisiana and southeastern Texas when it roared ashore as a Category 4 storm. Teddy never made landfall in the U.S. but brushed past Maine into Canada after it lashed Bermuda.

Tropical Storm Gamma hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Saturday with maximum sustained winds of nearly 70 mph, according to the Hurricane Center.

The four deaths in the state of Chiapas included two children who were crushed by a landslide in their home, according to Mexico’s civil defense agency.

The other two deaths were in Tabasco state, where one person was dragged away by the water and another drowned.