Tropical Storm Cindy to make landfall on Louisiana tonight

Since yesterday's update, Tropical Storm Bret dissipated off the coast of central Venezuela, but the system in the Gulf of Mexico was upgraded to Tropical Storm Cindy.  They were both named storms for a 6-hour period, which was the first such pre-July occurrence since 1968.  Cindy, the third named storm of the season, is about 8 weeks ahead of pace for an average season.

Although Cindy became organized and strong enough to earn a name, the big picture has not changed at all.  The structure is not very tropical-looking in appearance, with thunderstorm activity far-removed from the center, and an exposed mostly-dry low-level circulation center. Mild storm surge (1-4 feet) is occurring along the northern Gulf coast, and flooding from heavy rain is the biggest hazard as expected.

As of the Wednesday morning advisory, the center was located about 200 miles southeast of Galveston, and maximum winds are around 60 mph.  However, tropical storm force winds already extend over into coastal Mississippi.

Cindy is bringing tropical storm force winds, storm surge, tornadoes, and of course, LOTS of rain. Already, some impressive rainfall totals have been observed, as you can see in the map below:

I have a very long (and still updating) radar loop of the region available here.

Cindy will make landfall near the TX/LA border late tonight, though the impacts have been and will continue to be felt far east of the center.  After that, land and increasing wind shear will bring this storm to an end, but its remnants will dump rain from TX/LA/MS/AL up through TN and KY over the next couple of days.

There is nothing else in the foreseeable future, but the next name on deck is Don.

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Serious flood risk for northern Gulf Coast from potential tropical storm

Updates on the two storm systems of interest, one in the central Gulf of Mexico (pre-Cindy?) and one in the eastern Caribbean Bret), are available on the Capital Weather Gang blog:

Serious flood risk for northern Gulf Coast from potential tropical storm

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Two tropical storms are close to forming in the Atlantic, unusually early in the year

Today's update on the two systems that could become Bret and Cindy is available on the Capital Weather Gang blog:

Two tropical storms are close to forming in the Atlantic, unusually early in the year

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Outlook generally unchanged since Thursday's update

This will be very brief, since there isn't much to add other than to say that the forecast appears to still be on track.  The odds remain good that a tropical cyclone will develop near the Yucatan Peninsula in the next few days then drift toward the northwest or north through the Gulf of Mexico early next week.

This has been a slow-moving, slowly-evolving system, and that's not about to change.  If it congeals into something more centralized and organized, a tropical depression could form.  Once in the gulf, environmental conditions should be favorable for further development, and a tropical storm is certainly not out of the question.  If it reaches that intensity, it would be named Bret.

Regardless of the exact track, at this point, coastal impacts appear to be timed around Tuesday, though that is a rough guess for something that hasn't formed yet.

And the easterly wave I very briefly mentioned in yesterday's update remains a feature of interest.  Models tend to develop it for the next 4-5 days, then once it enters the eastern Caribbean, it encounters strong shear and loses its identity.  In the meantime, it could be something to watch in the Windward Islands in the Tuesday-ish timeframe.  It's currently centered about 1800 miles east of *French Guiana* (way south).

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A tropical storm could form in the Gulf of Mexico by early next week

A brief update on an area of interest located in the northwest Caribbean can be found on the Capital Weather Gang blog:

A tropical storm could form in the Gulf of Mexico by early next week

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Hurricane season kicks off today, and odds are it will be busier than normal

This season begins my 22nd year writing and sending out updates on tropical cyclone activity across the Atlantic basin.  I am also honored to be back for the 6th year as the tropical weather expert for the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang.
The 2016 season was the most active since 2010.  What will this year have in store?  My introduction to the 2017 hurricane season can be found at:

Hurricane season kicks off today, and odds are it will be busier than normal

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