The tropical disturbance in the southern Gulf has become better organized and will likely become a tropical depression tonight and possibly a weak tropical storm later tomorrow before making landfall in the central Gulf Coast early Saturday. As of now it is forecast to move onshore on the central Louisiana coast with highest impacts in eastern Louisiana to the panhandle of Florida. Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to the Alabama/Florida border.
The Coastal Bend will see minor impacts from the storm from Friday through the weekend. Rough surf with a high rip current risk and minor coastal flooding will be possible. Seas are expected to reach 7 feet Friday and 10 feet Saturday before subsiding to 6-7 feet Saturday night through Monday. Those heading to the beach should use caution if going in the water and stay shallow this weekend.
Winds will shift to the northeast Friday then north early Saturday and stay light before shifting back to the south Saturday night and increasing Sunday. This will pump humidity into south Texas, causing the heat index to soar to near 110 degrees Sunday and 110-116 degrees early next week as daytime temperatures reach the low to mid 90s.
Increasing moisture with passing upper level disturbances will give us a chance of thunderstorms next Tuesday and Wednesday.
