Tropical Storm Cristobal growing in the Gulf, posing threats from Florida to Louisiana
Tropical Storm Cristobal is on track to make landfall on the Gulf Coast on Sunday with powerful winds topping 50 mph and impacts stretching from eastern Texas to the Florida Panhandle.
Cristobal is about 210 miles from the south southwest side of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Cristobal’s position
The National Hurricane Center said the storm is continuing to move northward at 12 mph across the southern and central Gulf of Mexico in its 11 p.m. update.
Forecasters warn that the worst impacts of Cristobal could be felt far from its center, which is expected to cross into Louisiana sometime Sunday.
“Damaging and deadly flooding was already occurring in portions of Mexico and Central America,” the hurricane center said in its Saturday morning alert. The rains are expected to slowly subside but flash floods and mudslides are still possible through Saturday.
Storm surge
Several feet of storm surge, heavy rain and flash floods are also possible along the Florida Big Bend, parts of southeastern Louisiana and the Mississippi coast.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Northern Gulf of Mexico from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to the Okaloosa/Walton County Florida line.. A tropical storm warning is also in effect for Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas.
A storm surge watch is in effect for east of Morgan City, Louisiana, to the mouth of the Mississippi River.
A storm surge warning is in effect for the mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, including Lake Borgne.
South Florida flood watch
The unsettled waters in the Gulf prompted the National Weather Service in Miami to issue a flood watch for South Florida through Monday.
Scattered thunderstorms are expected to continue through Sunday and into the night across most of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The strongest storms could contain heavy rainfall, funnel clouds and gusty winds in the afternoon and evening, the service said.
This story was originally published June 6, 2020 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Tropical Storm Cristobal growing in the Gulf, posing threats from Florida to Louisiana."
