Tropical disturbance threatens Gulf Coast as New Orleans could see 10 inches of rain
According to the National Weather Service, the broad area of low pressure is currently over the Florida Panhandle and slowly drifting westward, with coastal areas of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana in its projected path.
'This system is forecast to continue moving westward, and could emerge or redevelop over the far northeastern to north-central portion of the Gulf later today or tonight, reaching the coast of Louisiana by Thursday,' the weather service said in its latest forecast.
Multiple flood watches have already been issued along the Louisiana coast.
The current forecast from the NWS office in New Orleans calls for three to five inches of rain in coastal Louisiana south of Interstate 10 Wednesday through Saturday, with the potential for up to 10 inches in some areas.
"Ponding of water in low-lying and poor drainage areas is likely," the weather service said, with the potential for more significant flooding in low-lying areas "if the higher end rainfall totals are realized."
Localized pockets of heavy rain are also possible in north Florida and the Panhandle on Wednesday, the NWS office in Tallahassee said, as the system moves away.
According to the National Hurricane Center, there is a 40% chance that the system will become a tropical depression.
'Environmental conditions over the Gulf appear generally favorable for additional development, and a tropical depression could still form over the next couple of days before the system moves fully inland by the end of the week,' the weather service said.
Further intensification is unlikely, but if it were to become a named storm, it would be Tropical Storm Dexter.
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and runs through the end of November, has gotten off to a relatively slow start.
In May, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted there would be 13 to 19 named storms, with six to 10 becoming hurricanes and three to five of those becoming major hurricanes (with winds of more than 110 mph).
So far, there have been three named storms: Tropical Storms Andrea, Barry and Chantal.
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