Tropical Storm Arthur is the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season
Tropical Storm Arthur, seen here in a satellite image from Wednesday morning, is the first named storm of the Atlantic season, bringing the threat of dangerous floods along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center predicts the system will not streng
Tropical Storm Arthur, seen here in a satellite image from Wednesday morning, is the first named storm of the Atlantic season, bringing the threat of dangerous floods along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center predicts the system will not strengthen much before making landfall. NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-19 hide caption
Tropical Storm Arthur is the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, and it's already bringing heavy rains to the northwestern Gulf Coast. Arthur is currently 40 miles east-northeast of Port Connor, Texas, according to a National Hurricane Center advisory .
Arthur's maximum sustained winds are 40 mph, just above the 39 mph threshold for a tropical storm. The storm is not expected to strengthen significantly, but forecasters warn of dangerous flash floods and urban flooding. Arthur is moving northeast and is expected to move inland over southwestern Louisiana by Wednesday night.
"Tropical Storm Arthur is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches, with isolated higher totals near 20 inches, through early Friday" along a large part of the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said in its advisory.
Arthur is expected to dissipate Wednesday night or early Thursday. But NHC Director Michael Brennan said in an online briefing that for areas hundreds of miles inland, rain is the slow-moving system's biggest danger.
"The main threat from Arthur is going to be a prolonged multi-day heavy rainfall event that could produce dangerous to life-threatening flash flooding," Brennan said. Behind him, a screen showed that areas from the Texas coast to South Georgia were under flood watch advisories.
"And that heavy rainfall threat is going to persist even after the center of Arthur moves farther inland and dissipates," he added.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from High Island, Texas, to Morgan City, La., the hurricane center said. The alert means that tropical storm conditions are expected within 12 hours.
