Tropical Storm Francine to deluge Texas with heavy rain

A storm is brewing in the Texas Gulf Coast which is expected to grow into a Category 1 hurricane by the time it makes landfall in Texas later this week. While the greatest effects will be felt along the Northeastern coast of the Lone Star State, rain and winds could reach inland and bring gloomy days to much of the state.

It’s expected to be a very active hurricane season. Trusted weather forecasters, like AccuWeather, are predicting upwards of 20 named storms and 10 hurricanes over the coming months – four to six of which could make landfall in the United States. Even though it’s still early in the season, we’ve already seen quite a bit of activity making its way into the Texas Gulf Coast, including Hurricane Beryl which made landfall in Texas on July 8 and wreaked havoc on coastal cities and Houston.

Now, Tropical Storm Francine has developed over the western Gulf of Mexico, and it’s expected to strengthen into a hurricane by the time it makes landfall near the Louisiana-Texas border around Wednesday, September 11. A storm surge watch is currently in effect for the upper Texas and Louisiana coastlines as the storm approaches.

“People in parts of Texas and Louisiana need to be prepared for flooding rainfall, powerful wind gusts, storm surge and the potential for spin up tornadoes embedded in rain bands,” warned AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter. “This region has dealt with a lot of rainfall and flooding in the past week. With the ground already saturated, we’re concerned about an elevated risk of flash flooding and trees with weakened root systems toppling over in the wind when this storm makes landfall and pushes inland.”

While there’s minimal impacts expected to reach inland, hitting cities like San Antonio or the greater Dallas-Forth Worth metro area, the storm will likely spinoff some rain chances into Central Texas.

The National Weather Service 10-day forecast shows decent rain chances for Texas coastal cities through the first half of the week. In fact, the weather agency has issued a coastal flood advisory for Corpus Christi through Tuesday afternoon as rain chances pick up Monday, September 9, and continue for several days.

“Bands of rain will begin to arrive along the far southern tip of Texas by Monday morning and are forecast to reach the Louisiana coastline by early Tuesday. AccuWeather expert meteorologists are forecasting a zone of 4-8 inches of rainfall across much of coastal Texas, as well as southeast and central Louisiana, and parts of western Mississippi,” a warning from AccuWeather officials reads.

The National Weather Service coastal flood advisory is in effect for the coastal portions of Aransas, Kleberg, Nueces, San Patricio, Refugio and Calhoun counties through 7 p.m. Tuesday. The forecaster says parks, roads, and developed lots are at risk of flooding. Further, road closures can be expected, making travel difficult, and strong rip tides pose a great risk to any swimmers thinking of braving the oceanic system.

While the impacts of Francine are expected to remain along the coastline of Texas, making its largest impact closer to Louisiana, there are some rain chances further inland as the week progresses. However, it’s not looking like any flood-causing downpours will impact Central Texas cities.

In San Antonio, there’s a 20% chance of rain Wednesday, September 11, just as Tropical Storm Francine develops into a Category 1 hurricane and makes landfall at the Louisiana-Texas border. Otherwise, it’s looking like mostly sunny skies and relatively mild temperatures in the Alamo City.

Austin has slightly greater rain chances over the next few days, but there still doesn’t’ seem to be any risk of severe rainfall that could cause flooding issues. There’s a roughly 20% to 30% chance of rain, showers and thunderstorms in the Texas capital between Tuesday night and Wednesday night.