Millions along the Gulf Coast brace for severe flooding as potential tropical system approaches
A sprawling area of storms that still has a chance of becoming a tropical system is churning toward the Gulf Coast and threatens to bring significant rain and flash flooding this week to a large swath of the southeast, from the Florida panhandle to Louisiana and parts of eastern Texas.
The worst-case scenario, where storms stall near the coast, would mean parts of southern Louisiana could receive over a foot of rain, with rainfall rates up to 2 to 3 inches per hour. This would likely overwhelm storm drains in flood-prone New Orleans, where the ground is already saturated from recent rain. The potential storm’s flood threat is just the latest in what has been a summer full of deadly and devastating floods.
A Level 3 of 4 risk is in place Thursday for south-central Louisiana, with a Level 2 of 4 risk along the Gulf Coast from east Texas to the west Florida panhandle – including New Orleans, Mobile, Alabama, and Gulfport, Mississippi. Heavy storms could be long-lasting, tracking over the same areas repeatedly and soaking the same spots with several inches of rain. On Friday, there is a Level 2 of 4 flood risk for the same areas, including farther inland in Louisiana.
Despite moving over warm Gulf waters, which would provide fuel for development, the cluster of storms has been ripped apart by hostile upper-level winds, leaving it unlikely to claim Dexter, the next name on the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season list.
“Regardless of development, heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected over the north- central Gulf through Friday, with erratic gusty winds and rough seas possible,” warns the hurricane center.
Signs of trouble have already begun. The storm cluster traveled across the Florida peninsula Monday into Tuesday, dropping nearly a foot of rain in the Tampa area. This amount of rain in a short time overwhelmed even Florida’s resilient, sandy soil, causing flooding in Brevard County, according to the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office.
Daytona Beach was drenched with 2.25 inches of rain on Tuesday, breaking its previous daily record of 2 inches set on July 15, 1935.
In New Orleans, officials opened several sandbag distribution sites Wednesday ahead of the heaviest rain, according to a notification from the city.
It’s clear that heavy rain and flooding will threaten much of the north-central Gulf Coast. What’s not clear yet is exactly where the worst will hit, and how much more water vulnerable communities in this area can withstand.