Scattered Showers Arrive Tomorrow and Continue Over the Weekend
Weather Update – 11:00 p.m. – Thursday, October 8th
Temperatures peaked in the lower 80s again this afternoon despite having mostly cloudy or even overcast skies. Delta remains centered over the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico but reached category 3 status this afternoon and may not weaken until just before making landfall in Louisiana Friday night.
TONIGHT
Under mostly cloudy skies, temperatures will only drop to the upper 50s and lower 60s at the coolest point of the night. We’ll remain rain-free tonight but scattered showers will start to show up tomorrow. 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!
Hurricane Delta is forecast to make landfall in Louisiana Friday evening as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane. Heavy showers will move through West Tennessee Saturday and Sunday with gusty winds as the center of Delta moves through the Mid-South. 1-3″ of rain is forecast for northwest Tennessee while 2-4″ is forecast for areas closer to the Tennessee River and south of I-40. Stay tuned to WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News for the latest forecast including the risk for an isolated tornado, 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 – 7:00 p.m.
From the National Hurricane Center…
At 7:00 PM CT, the center of Hurricane Delta was located near latitude 25.3 North, longitude 93.5 West. Delta is moving toward the north-northwest near 12 mph. A turn toward the north is forecast overnight, followed by a north-northeastward motion Friday and Friday night. On the forecast track, the center of Delta will move over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico on Friday, and then move inland within the hurricane warning area Friday afternoon or Friday night.
Maximum sustained winds are near 115 mph with higher gusts. Delta is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Additional strengthening is possible tonight. Some weakening is anticipated as Delta approaches the northern Gulf coast on Friday, with rapid weakening expected after the center moves inland. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 160 miles. NOAA buoy 42002, just to the north of Delta’s center, recently measured a sustained wind of 54 mph and a wind gust to 65 mph. The minimum central pressure estimated from Hurricane Hunter observations is 956 mb.
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
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STORM SURGE: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide…
Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, LA to Port Fourchon, LA including Vermilion Bay…7-11 ft
Holly Beach, LA to Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, LA…4-7 ft
Port Fourchon, LA to the Mouth of the Mississippi River…4-6 ft
Sabine Pass to Holly Beach, LA…3-5 ft
Calcasieu Lake…3-5 ft
High Island, TX to Sabine Pass…2-4 ft
Mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs, MS…2-4 ft
Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain, and Lake Maurepas…2-4 ft
Ocean Springs, MS to the AL/FL border including Mobile Bay…1-3 ft
Sabine Lake…1-3 ft
Port O’Connor, TX to High Island, TX including Galveston Bay…1-3 ft
The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the east of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For information specific to your area, please see products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.
WIND: Hurricane conditions are expected within the hurricane warning area by Friday afternoon or evening, with tropical storm conditions expected within this area by early Friday. Tropical storm conditions are expected within the tropical storm warning areas on Friday, and are possible in the tropical storm watch area Friday night.
RAINFALL: Friday through Saturday, Delta is expected to produce 5 to 10 inches of rain, with isolated maximum totals of 15 inches, from southwest into south-central Louisiana. These rainfall amounts will lead to significant flash, urban, small stream flooding, along with minor to isolated moderate river flooding.
For extreme east Texas into northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas and western Mississippi, Delta is expected to produce 3 to 6 inches of rain, with isolated maximum totals of 10 inches. These rainfall amounts will lead to flash, urban, small stream and isolated minor river flooding.
As Delta moves farther inland, 1 to 3 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts, are expected in the Ohio Valley and Mid Atlantic this weekend.
TORNADOES: A few tornadoes are possible late tonight through Friday over southern parts of Louisiana and Mississippi
SURF: Swells from Delta will begin to affect portions of the northern and western Gulf coast later today. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
