Tropical Depression 28 expected to hit U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday
The low-pressure system in the Caribbean Sea has developed into a tropical depression that could make landfall as a tropical storm somewhere between Louisiana and Florida on Wednesday.
The latest update Saturday afternoon from the National Hurricane Center said the system had become the 28th tropical depression of the 2020 hurricane season. Forecasters said the depression is expected to strengthen slowly over the next 72 hours, and could become a hurricane over the southern Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday.
With more than a month left in a record-breaking hurricane season, the Mississippi Gulf Coast isn’t yet in the clear.
“The system is forecast to approach the northern Gulf Coast as a tropical storm on Wednesday, and could bring storm surge, rainfall, and wind impacts to areas from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle,” the National Hurricane Center said.
The National Weather Service in New Orleans cautioned that specific effects in Mississippi and elsewhere will depend on the storm’s track and intensity.
“However, it could bring coastal flooding, heavy rain, and gusty winds to the local area in approximately 4 days,” it posted on Twitter.
The storm is currently south of Cuba and moving northwest at 2 mph. It’s expected to speed up on Monday and approach the Yucatan Peninsula before moving into the Gulf of Mexico.
The system is currently known as Tropical Depression 28, but if it strengthens to a storm, reaching maximum wind speeds of 39 mph, it will be named Tropical Storm Zeta.
Across parts of Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, south Florida and the Yucatan Peninsula, rainfall of four to eight inches, up to 12 inches in some areas, is predicted.
