Eye on the Tropics

Spotty storms possible early evening; Hurricane warnings up in Louisiana

By Irene Sans, WFTV.com, Brian Shields, WFTV.com, and James Tutten
By Irene Sans, WFTV.com, Brian Shields, WFTV.com, and James Tutten
Warmer temperatures return as a mix of sun and clouds will keep afternoon storm chances around 50% across the area.
High temperatures will reached between 92 and 94 degrees for most of Central Florida.
There is stil the chance for scattered showers and storms through the early evening. Overnight, temperatures around 75 degrees across Central Florida. 
Beachgoers should expect a moderate risk for rip currents and hit the shore early, before afternoon storms move across the state. 
TROPICAL STORM BARRY - OFFICIALLY NAMED
The National Hurricane Center officially named the system over the Gulf of Mexico "Barry." As of 11 a.m. Thursday, it was a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds at 40 mph and was moving west at 5 mph.
Tropical Storm Barry is forecast to make landfall Saturday afternoonas a Category 1 hurricane in Louisiana.
The storm is already developing storms over Louisiana, and the rain will continue constantly over the next three days. This will be a huge rain event for Louisiana, Mississippi, extreme southwestern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. There is plenty of time and fuel for this system to become much better organized and strengthen. Gulf waters are running around 4 degrees above average and water temperatures are in the upper 80s.
BARRY BRINGS MAJOR WORRIES IN LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI 
Life-threatening floods, storm surge
Barry will be a major rain event across much of Louisiana and Mississippi through the weekend. Louisiana has already had flooding since Wednesday, and parts of the state could receive over 15 inches of rain. Isolated spots could receive up to 25 inches of rain. Storm surge will also be a major risk, as 6 feet of storm surge is expected for some coastal locations in Louisiana. 
Life-threatening floods will also affect people and structures across inland locations. 
The Mississippi River is at historic high levels, and the rains promise to make the situation worse. 
Tropical storm-force winds are expected to arrive to the New Orleans region by 6 a.m. Friday. The exact landfall spot has been shifting slightly east and west in the last few advisories. At noon Thursday, the cone encompassed a landfall area from Lake Charles eastward to just east of Houma. 
Impacts will go well beyond the cone of uncertainty. Expect torrential rains and life-threatening floods to cover much of eastern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi. 
This amount of rain will likely put the levees to their maximum test.
If you are reading this from an area expected to be affected by Barry or have friends and family in that region, make sure to tell then to follow authorities' orders. Evacuate if you are ordered to do so. Rescue missions not only put you life at risk, but also the lives of rescuers. 
The greatest risk for tornadoes is from Baton Rogue eastward to Pensacola in Florida. 
Hurricane-force winds will be experienced at the coast by late Friday evening or early Saturday morning.

Is your name on the list? 2019 hurricane season name list

It’s hurricane season, and as we approach the next few weeks, we will be approaching the peak of the season and will likely see more systems trying to develop and systems developing. Now is the time to make sure you have a plan for when the season picks up.
We will continue to monitor the situation and bring you the latest updates on our free WFTV weather app, wftv.com and on Eyewitness News. 

Watch your full 5-day forecast below:

Hotter weather returns Hotter weather returns

Watch Eyewitness News for the latest weather updates.

Follow our Severe Weather team on Twitter for live updates:

Cox Media Group

0

Most Read