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Tropical Storm Gordon Poised to Hit Gulf Coast as a Hurricane Tropical Storm Gordon Poised to Hit the Gulf Coast as a Hurricane
(about 3 hours later)
Tropical Storm Gordon was poised to become the first hurricane to threaten the continental United States this year as it gathered strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. Tropical Storm Gordon is gathering strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and is poised to become the first hurricane to strike the continental United States this year.
After becoming a tropical storm only on Monday as it passed over the Florida Keys, Gordon was expected to intensify to a Category One hurricane before striking the Gulf Coast late Tuesday or early Wednesday, forecasters said. The storm reached tropical-storm strength on Monday as it passed over the Florida Keys, and is expected to intensify into a Category One hurricane before it makes landfall along the Gulf Coast late Tuesday or early Wednesday, forecasters said.
Gordon had maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour — nine miles per hour below the meteorological threshold for a hurricane — and was about 190 miles east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River on Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. A hurricane warning was in effect from the mouth of the Pearl River to Alabama’s border with Florida, and a tropical storm warning was issued for an even wider area. At midday Tuesday, its winds were blowing at a maximum sustained speed of 65 miles per hour — nine miles per hour below the meteorological threshold for a hurricane — and it was centered about 145 miles east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, the National Hurricane Center said. A hurricane warning is in effect from the mouth of the Pearl River near Bay St. Louis, Miss., eastward to Alabama’s border with Florida; stretches of the Gulf Coast on either side of that area are under a tropical storm warning.
“Residents in these areas should listen to advice from their local officials,” the hurricane center said in a forecast discussion. “All preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion, as tropical storm conditions are expected to arrive in the warning areas this afternoon.”“Residents in these areas should listen to advice from their local officials,” the hurricane center said in a forecast discussion. “All preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion, as tropical storm conditions are expected to arrive in the warning areas this afternoon.”
The language, familiar to people living along the Gulf, came as the state and local authorities readied for a storm whose primary threats appeared to be rainfall and storm surge. Some areas of the coast could record a foot of rain, forecasters said, and officials warned of the threat of flooding. That advice — in language familiar to people living along the Gulf — came as state and local authorities braced for a storm whose primary threats appear to be heavy rainfall and a storm surge, more than wind damage. Some areas of the coast could receive a foot of rain, forecasters said, and officials warned of the threat of flooding.
The governors of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi declared emergencies. Many schools along the coast were closed Tuesday morning, with others expected to shut down in the afternoon. Some districts announced that their classrooms would also be empty on Wednesday. Although Gordon is not expected to cause anything approaching the catastrophic destruction of 2017’s major hurricanes, the governors of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi have all declared states of emergency and are urging residents not to take the storm lightly.
The City of Biloxi, Miss., ordered its harbors and marinas evacuated, affecting about 300 vessels, but local leaders were plainly trying to avoid wide panic. “Alabama is postured for a coastal wind and water event, but the key will be preparation of our citizens,” said Brian E. Hastings, the director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. “If you live in the coastal counties, especially in surge- and flood-prone areas, it is imperative that you get to a safe place by early afternoon and stay there through Wednesday morning.”
Many schools along the coast were closed Tuesday morning, and others are expected to dismiss students early. Some districts announced that their classrooms would also be empty on Wednesday.
The city of Biloxi, Miss., ordered its harbors and marinas evacuated, affecting about 300 vessels. But local leaders were plainly trying to avoid prompting any wide panic.
“We’re asking people to do the same things that we’re doing: prepare,” Mayor Andrew Gilich said in a statement. “There’s no reason to be alarmed. We’re being told to expect rain and wind, and we’re preparing accordingly. We expected our citizens to be doing the same.”“We’re asking people to do the same things that we’re doing: prepare,” Mayor Andrew Gilich said in a statement. “There’s no reason to be alarmed. We’re being told to expect rain and wind, and we’re preparing accordingly. We expected our citizens to be doing the same.”
Although New Orleans, the economic and cultural center of the coast, was not expected to suffer a direct strike, the city’s new mayor, LaToya Cantrell, issued an emergency declaration and a voluntary evacuation order for certain neighborhoods. A handful of Louisiana parishes handed out sandbags. Although New Orleans, the economic and cultural center of the coast, is not expected to suffer a direct strike, the city’s new mayor, LaToya Cantrell, issued an emergency declaration and a voluntary evacuation order for certain neighborhoods. A handful of Louisiana parishes handed out sandbags to residents.
The Gulf Coast contended with a hurricane last October, when Nate made landfall at the Mississippi River’s mouth as a Category One storm. The hurricane, which had earlier led to substantial destruction and dozens of deaths in Central America, caused about $225 million in damage in the United States and contributed to two fatalities. New Orleans has struggled with drainage issues, but the city’s Sewerage and Water Board said this week that it was prepared for this storm. Almost all of the city’s drainage pumps are available, the authorities said, and the drainage system is ready to self-generate more electricity to run the pumps than it had been able to do for at least a decade.
And in May, Alberto, then a subtropical storm, made landfall near Laguna Beach, Fla., just northwest of Panama City. The storm caused flooding and mudslides across the South, including in North Carolina, where two television journalists were killed when a tree struck their vehicle. The storm will also be a test for a new city official. Tuesday is the first formal day on the job for Ghassan Korban, who was recently named the executive director of the Sewerage and Water Board; he was formerly the public works commissioner in Milwaukee, where snowstorms are a more frequent problem than cyclones.
The Gulf Coast most recently contended with a hurricane last October, when Nate made landfall at the mouth of the Mississippi River as a Category One storm. That storm had already caused substantial destruction and dozens of deaths in Central America, but its impact in the United States was less severe: $225 million in damage and two fatalities.
In May, the first named Atlantic storm of 2018, Alberto, made landfall near Laguna Beach, Fla., just northwest of Panama City. The storm’s heavy rains caused flooding and mudslides across the South, including in North Carolina, where two television journalists were killed when a tree struck their vehicle.
September is often the peak of hurricane season, and so far at least, the 2018 season has not shaped up to be nearly as deadly or expensive as 2017, when three immense storms — Harvey, Irma and Maria — assaulted the United States with heavy winds and rains.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lowered its forecast for the Atlantic hurricane season last month, and said it now expected no more than 13 named storms for the year. In May, forecasters were anticipating as many as 16 named storms. Officially, the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November.
The third tropical storm to reach hurricane strength in the Atlantic this season was the one ahead of Gordon, named Florence. But it has not strayed anywhere near the North American mainland. On Tuesday morning it was almost 1,300 miles east-northeast of the Lesser Antilles and is not expected to be a threat in the next five days.
There is also a “tropical wave” — the seed of a potential hurricane — off the western coast of Africa, where Atlantic storms tend to get their start. Forecasters believe it will strengthen to the next level, a tropical depression, in a few days. If it develops into a named storm, it will be called Helene.
How you can track Gordon and Florence?: The National Hurricane Center regularly posts updates, including maps with the projected paths of storms and details about watches and warnings, on its website.
We’re glad you asked. Here’s an article from 2016 exploring that subject.