[10-05-2017] Tropical Storm Nate is located in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Nicaragua, and it’s expected to spin north toward New Orleans – possibly reaching hurricane strength before making landfall in Louisiana next week.
Here is the latest advisory from the National Weather Service:
KEY MESSAGES:
1. The depression is forecast to strengthen and bring tropical storm conditions to portions of Nicaragua and Honduras through early Friday. Heavy rainfall could produce life-threatening flash flooding and mud slides in portions of Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama through Friday night.
2. The system could be near hurricane intensity when it approaches the Yucatan Peninsula late Friday, bringing direct impacts from wind, storm surge, and heavy rainfall, and a hurricane watch is in effect for a portion of this area.
3. The system is forecast to strengthen over the Gulf of Mexico and could affect portions of the northern Gulf Coast as a hurricane this weekend, with direct impacts from wind, storm surge, and heavy rainfall. However, it is too early to specify the timing, location, or magnitude of these impacts. Residents along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana through the Florida Panhandle should monitor the progress of this system and heed any advice given by local officials.
[UPDATE 10-08-2017] Hurricane Nate made 2 landfalls in less than 12 hours. So Nate moved quickly and strengthened quickly. It’s Sunday morning and Hurricane Nate is now moving north inland and weakening.
The Category 1 storm first made landfall at the mouth of the Mississippi River at 8 p.m. Saturday evening with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. Then at 1:30 a.m., Nate made a second landfall near Biloxi, Miss. at the same intensity. Source Washington Post.
That has to be one of the fastest storms to move through the Gulf of Mexico. In almost 3 days it moved 1300 miles.
On the move! Nate’s 28 mph forward motion, in the last 12 hours, is the fastest recorded forward motion of a Hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico