Cindy makes landfall

Cindy's impact from Jacksonville to the Gulf

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tropical Storm Cindy made landfall between Cameron, Louisiana and Port Arthur, Texas Thursday in the predawn hours. A high risk of flash flooding remains today as Cindy tracks inland over the lower Mississippi Valley. Its moisture combining with a front that's expected to sink southward will cause more flooding risk on Friday for the Lower Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio Valleys, and again for the Lower Mississippi Valley and portions of the Southeast by Saturday.

Wednesday saw...

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The third tropical storm of 2017 moved slowly toward the northern Gulf Coast on Wednesday and will rumble inland Thursday over western Louisiana and eastern Texas. Forecasters warned 6 to 9 inches of rain and up to 12 inches in spots in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle.

The National Hurricane Center said at 5 p..m. Wednesday that Tropical Storm Cindy was about 135 miles south of Lake Charles, Louisiana. It was moving northwest at 9 mph. It had top sustained winds of 50 mph, with tropical storm-force winds extending out 115 miles.

A tropical storm warning was in effect from San Luis Pass, Texas, to the mouth of the Mississippi River.

A turn toward the north-northwest is expected, then toward the north as Cindy reaches the coast of southwest Louisiana or southeast Texas late Wednesday or Thursday morning.

Rain and tides, rather than wind, were considered the main danger from the system.

Gulf states prepare

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency because of the threat of torrential rains and other severe weather, including dangerous high tides and rip currents. Double red flags snapped in the wind on the public beach at Gulf Shores in her state, warning visitors to stay out of the pounding surf.

Workers on Grand Isle, a barrier island community south of New Orleans, worked to reinforce a rock levee protecting the island's vulnerable west side. Officials there decided against calling an evacuation but said in a statement that anyone who wanted to head for the mainland should do so as early as possible because water might eventually cover low-lying parts of the only route off the island.

The Louisiana National Guard dispatched high water vehicles and helicopters into flood-prone areas. The state said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was moving 125,000 meals and 200,000 liters of water into Louisiana.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said the advance notice of the storm gave officials time to put emergency plans in place. Louisiana was slammed with major flooding last summer from an unnamed storm that heavily damaged the Baton Rouge and Lafayette regions.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the State Operations Center on Tuesday to raise its readiness level from level four/normal conditions to level three/increased readiness. He also activated four Texas Task Force 1 boat squads and two Texas Military Department vehicles squads of five vehicles each to respond to any weather-related emergencies.

Tropical Storm Cindy forms Tuesday afternoon

Hurricane Hunters investigated the low pressure system about noon Tuesday that was later determined to be Cindy.

Typically, when maximum winds are far away from the center of low pressure, the NHC will label the system sub-tropical. Sub-tropical means it isn't purely tropical, it implies that dry and cooler than normal air is involved within the overall system.  

We suspect that the National Hurricane Center would have wished they had labeled it a sub-tropical storm, as nearly all of the convective (tropical rains) have been sheared off to the north of the center. It definitely doesn't look tropical at this time. 

Tropical Storm Bret dissipates

Ran across the northern coast of Venezuela, which is very rare, dropping some very heavy rainfall and winds to 45 mph. No significant damage has been reported. The only thing Bret maybe known for was that he was the strongest tropical system so early in the year and so far to the south (near the equator).

Impact on Jacksonville

Cindy will not be a threat to Jacksonville. This doesn't mean we clear out and see sunny days and clear nights immediately. We will hold off on those until Friday and Saturday, but we will see a shift in the rain/storms westward and focus along the I-75 corridor.

Gainesville to Valdosta, Georgia, will see significant rainfall over the next two days, possibly another 3-4 inches. This would really add to the already amazing Gainesville monthly rainfall totals of 13.13 inches and would also imply that localized flooding is the biggest threat to the I-75 corridor.

Meanwhile, closer to Jacksonville, drier weather, but not dry conditions will impact our weather. Noontime, I-95, showers and storms are likely Wednesday. Rainfall amounts won't be as intense. Beaches may not see much rainfall as southeasterly winds will force most of the bigger storms just inland.

Record tropical action

When Cindy joined Bret Tuesday as named tropical storms, it was the first time that has occurred in the month of June since 1968. There were three other occurrences since 1850.

Tropical Storm Bret was the most intense early season storm (barely a tropical storm with winds to 40 mph) to develop as south as it did, around the 10° North latitude line.