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Tropical storm Cindy threatens Gulf Coast
Tropical Storm Cindy formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, and storm warnings were posted along the Louisiana coast.
The system was upgraded from Potential Tropical Cyclone Three, which is a new designation from the National Hurricane Center for systems that have not developed yet, but that will likely bring tropical storm impacts soon. Tropical storms require minimum sustained winds of 39 mph; Cindy was packing 45 mph winds at 1 p.m. ET.
The storm was located 265 miles south of Morgan City, La., with a track taking it into southwest Louisiana on Wednesday night.
The system is "expected to produce total rain accumulations of 4 to 8 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 10 inches over southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through Thursday morning," the hurricane center said.
Flooding is also a significant concern, the Weather Channel said.
These are the planes that fly into and above hurricanes and tropical storms to gather the weather data that is used to make forecasts and warnings. USA TODAY
Storm surge inundations of 1 to 3 feet are also possible along the coast. Gusty winds are also expected, and a tornado or two could also spin up.
A second storm, Tropical Storm Bret, is now near the coast of South America near Trinidad and Tobago. The current track from the hurricane center takes it west/northwest into the Caribbean Sea. Once it reaches the Caribbean midweek, it should encounter wind shear that will weaken it. The system may dissipate by Thursday.
Bret has become the earliest named storm to form in this part of the Atlantic since official records were kept in 1851, AccuWeather said.
Contributing: WWL-TV, New Orleans
Statistics show that the weather forecasts people routinely make fun of have actually vastly improved. It's most noticeable in hurricane forecast tracks so you can test them as hurricane season starts Thursday. (June 1) AP