Tropical Storm Francine formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and could be a Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday, headed toward a projected landfall along the Louisiana coast.
The forecast of heavy rain and damaging wind gusts could lead to downed trees, power outages and structural damage from portions of northeastern Mexico to the southern U.S., AccuWeather warned.
The storm continued to grow stronger and become better organized on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said in an early afternoon update. The center of the system was an estimated 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande and about 450 miles south-southwest of Cameron, Louisiana. Sustained winds had increased to 60 mph and the storm was moving at 5 mph in a north-northwesterly direction.
A hurricane watch was issued for a stretch of the Louisiana coast from Cameron to Grand Isle, meaning hurricane conditions are possible there within the next 48 hours.
A tropical storm watch was issued earlier for Southern Texas, from Port Mansfield south to the Rio Grande River, which means tropical storm winds are possible along the coast by Tuesday evening. A tropical storm watch also is in effect southward along the Mexican coast to Barra del Tordo.
Tropical storm watches also were in effect along the Texas coast just west of the Louisiana border and in southeastern Louisiana, from Grand Isle to the mouth of the Pearl River, including Lake Pontchartrain.
An elevated risk of rip currents is expected along Gulf Coast beaches this week as Francine approaches the coast, according to the National Weather Service.
In preparation for potentially rough wind and seas, two U.S. oil and gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico are evacuating staff and curbing drilling, Reuters reported Monday.
Source: Tropical Storm Francine forms in Gulf, headed toward US landfall as a hurricane
The forecast of heavy rain and damaging wind gusts could lead to downed trees, power outages and structural damage from portions of northeastern Mexico to the southern U.S., AccuWeather warned.
The storm continued to grow stronger and become better organized on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said in an early afternoon update. The center of the system was an estimated 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande and about 450 miles south-southwest of Cameron, Louisiana. Sustained winds had increased to 60 mph and the storm was moving at 5 mph in a north-northwesterly direction.
A hurricane watch was issued for a stretch of the Louisiana coast from Cameron to Grand Isle, meaning hurricane conditions are possible there within the next 48 hours.
A tropical storm watch was issued earlier for Southern Texas, from Port Mansfield south to the Rio Grande River, which means tropical storm winds are possible along the coast by Tuesday evening. A tropical storm watch also is in effect southward along the Mexican coast to Barra del Tordo.
Tropical storm watches also were in effect along the Texas coast just west of the Louisiana border and in southeastern Louisiana, from Grand Isle to the mouth of the Pearl River, including Lake Pontchartrain.
An elevated risk of rip currents is expected along Gulf Coast beaches this week as Francine approaches the coast, according to the National Weather Service.
In preparation for potentially rough wind and seas, two U.S. oil and gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico are evacuating staff and curbing drilling, Reuters reported Monday.
Francine is the sixth named storm of the season
Source: Tropical Storm Francine forms in Gulf, headed toward US landfall as a hurricane
