HOUSTON (AP) – A tropical system in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico is expected to strengthen this week into a tropical storm and dump heavy rains onto Mexico and Texas before reaching the United States as a potential hurricane, the National Weather Service said on Sunday.
The system, about 545 kilometres (km) south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande, had maximum 85km per hour on Sunday and was forecast to drift slowly northwestward. Forecasters said it was too early to pinpoint the exact track of the storm and its potential impacts but warned that the upper Texas and Louisiana coastlines could see damaging winds and storm surges.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott put state emergency responders on increased readiness and warned of the potential of flash flooding and heavy rains.
“Texas will continue to closely monitor weather conditions to protect the well-being of Texans,” Abbott said in a statement.
Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, Louisiana Donald Jones said during a weather briefing on Saturday night that parts of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana should expect a “whole lot” of rain in the middle and later part of this week.
