Delta Will Deal Us Heavy Rain Over the Weekend
Weather Update – 11:30 p.m. – Tuesday, October 6th
Hurricane Delta strengthened from a tropical depression to a Category 4 hurricane in just 30 hours in the western Caribbean. Expected to make landfall near Cancun, Mexico tomorrow morning, Delta will then turn north. The storm will approach a second landfall on the Gulf Coast on Friday. Delta will deal heavy rain and gusty winds to the Mid-South but the impacts in Mexico and along the Gulf Coast will be much more severe. In the meantime, our weather remains calm and quiet!
TONIGHT
We dropped to 37°F in Jackson this morning, but won’t be nearly as cold tonight. Temperatures will bottom out in the middle to upper 40s at the coolest point of the night with clear skies and calm winds in place. Our skies have been hazy from the wildfires out west ongoing in California and Colorado. Don’t forget to download the new WBBJ Weather app on your Android device or iPhone to stay ahead of the weather where you are!
Another sunny day is in store for West Tennessee tomorrow with light winds and highs in the lower 80s. Delta may make landfall in Mexico Wednesday but aims to arrive on the Gulf Coast on Friday and West Tennessee this weekend. So stay tuned to WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News for the latest forecast including how much rain we could end up dealing with from Delta, and for more updates keep up with Storm Team Weather online too.
Tom Meiners
Storm Team 7 Chief Meteorologist, CBM
Twitter – @WBBJ7TomMeiners
Facebook – http://facebook.com/WBBJ.tom.meiners
Email – tmeiners@wbbjtv.com
TROPICAL WEATHER UPDATE –
From the National Hurricane Center…
At 10:00 PM CDT, the center of Hurricane Delta was located near latitude 19.5 North, longitude 85.1 West. Delta is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph. A west-northwestward to northwestward motion is expected over the next day or so. A slower northwestward to north-northwestward motion is forecast to begin on Thursday, and a northward motion is expected Thursday night and Friday. On the forecast track, the center of Delta will move over the northeastern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula early Wednesday. Delta is forecast to move over the southern Gulf of Mexico Wednesday afternoon, be over the southern or central Gulf of Mexico through Thursday, and approach the northern Gulf coast on Friday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 130 mph with higher gusts. Delta is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Little change in strength is expected before the center reaches the coast of the Yucatan peninsula early Wednesday. Although some weakening is likely when Delta moves over the Yucatan peninsula, re-strengthening is forecast when the hurricane moves over the southern Gulf of Mexico Wednesday night and Thursday.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles. NOAA buoy 42056 recently measured a sustained wind of 65 mph and a gust to 76 mph. The estimated minimum central pressure is 960 mb.
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
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STORM SURGE: An extremely dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 7 to 11 ft above normal tide levels along the coast of the Yucatan peninsula from Cabo Catoche to Progresso, and 6 to 9 ft above normal tide levels from Tulum to Cabo Catoche. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.
WIND: In the Yucatan Peninsula, hurricane conditions are expected in the warning area early Wednesday, with tropical storm conditions beginning later today or tonight. Tropical storm conditions are expected in the tropical storm warning area tonight and Wednesday. In Cuba, tropical storm conditions are expected tonight in the warning area and possible in the watch area near the same time.
RAINFALL: Delta is expected to produce 4 to 6 inches of rain, with isolated maximum totals of 10 inches, across portions of the northern Yucatan Peninsula through midweek. This rainfall may result in areas of significant flash flooding.
Over the next few days, Delta is expected to produce 2 to 4 inches of rain, with isolated higher amounts, across portions of the Cayman Islands and western Cuba. This rainfall may result in areas of flash flooding and mudslides.
Later this week, Delta is expected to bring heavy rainfall and flash and urban flooding to portions of the central Gulf Coast, Tennessee Valley, and southeastern United States.
SURF: Swells generated by Delta will affected land areas around the northwestern Caribbean Sea for the next day or so. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
