NEWS: Tropical Storm Francine Forms, National Hurricane Center Predicts Hurricane Status by Wednesday

UPDATE: As of 4:00AM CT/5:00AM EST on September 11th, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has classified this system as HURRICANE FRANCINE.

Weather in the Gulf of Mexico could get rough this week.

Storm clouds

Despite fall weather coming on stronger than usual for early September in multiple parts of the country — we’re looking at you northeast — we’re still right in the middle of hurricane season, and there’s currently potential for a dangerous storm to develop in the Gulf of Mexico.

UPDATE: As of 4:00AM CT/5:00AM EST on September 11th, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has classified this system as HURRICANE FRANCINE.

4am CDT Sep 11: Here is the latest experimental cone graphic for Hurricane #Francine showing all coastal and inland wind watches & warnings, as well as the latest Key Messages. Visit https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb for the latest updates. pic.twitter.com/M9x8UrdWhY

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 11, 2024

As of the morning of September 9th, he National Hurricane Center (the NHC) is monitoring the development of a system in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico with a “high chance” of developing into a major storm over the early part of this week. The system, Invest 91L, is producing large areas of showers and thunderstorms as well as winds in the 40-45 mph range.

STORM UPDATES

According to an early morning September 9th update. The NHC anticipates the storm system will become a tropical storm, with Tropical Storm Watches currently in effect for northeastern Mexico and extreme southern Texas. Furthermore, they forecast that the storm is likely to become a hurricane by the middle of the week, just before it reaches the northwestern Gulf Coast.

National Hurricane Center

The NHC warns that this system has the potential to create a “life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds” for areas on the coasts of Louisiana and Texas and advises that residents have their hurricane plan in place.

Furthermore, they warn that “Potential Tropical Cyclone Six is expected to bring heavy rainfall and the risk of considerable flash flooding along the coast of far northeast Mexico, portions of southernmost Texas, southern Louisiana, and southern Mississippi into Thursday morning. A risk of flash and urban flooding exists across portions of the Mid-South from Wednesday into Friday morning.”

National Hurricane Center

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a potentially devastating weather system that’s currently developing in the Gulf of Mexico and is potentially forecast to make landfall in the middle of the week. Stay tuned to AllEars for the latest updates on this weather system.