Gulf of Mexico disturbance to bring drenching showers to Texas

A disturbance spinning over the Gulf of Mexico is gathering showers, thunderstorms and rough seas and will drift onshore in coastal Texas before the end of the week.

There is a chance the system will develop before moving inland and may bring parts of the state both needed rainfall and gusty thunderstorms. The system will also pose a risk to bathers.

The system began as a cluster of thunderstorms over the interior Southeastern states late last week and drifted slowly westward over the northern Gulf since then.

According to AccuWeather.com Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski, “The disturbance has potential to develop into a tropical system if the center manages to stay offshore a while longer.”

Oil platforms off the Texas coast with weather instruments up to several hundred feet above the surface of the Gulf recorded wind gusts between 20 and 40 mph Wednesday.

Hurricane hunter aircraft was deployed on Wednesday to investigate the system Wednesday. At that time, winds were insufficient to classify the system as a tropical depression or storm.

There is still a chance the system will become the fifth tropical depression and fourth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, prior to moving onshore.

“Systems over the western Gulf have developed very quickly in the past, and this is why it needs to be watched closely,” Kottlowski said.

The next name on the list for the season is Dolly, should the feature develop.

The system is forecast to wobble very slowly onshore and into South Texas through the end of the week.

The system will bring needed rainfall to some areas. Much of South Texas is experiencing drought this summer.

Showers and thunderstorms will push in from the Gulf into coastal and South Texas and will stretch from Houston to Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville and Laredo during the latter part of the week.

It is possible that gusty thunderstorms will produce a couple of waterspouts and brief tornadoes as the disturbance moves onshore.

As a non-tropical system moves in from the west and joins up with the disturbance, drenching showers and thunderstorms may become more widespread over central and northeast Texas during the first part of the Labor Day weekend.

As the flow of moisture increases across coastal and northeastern Texas, the risk of flash flooding will increase.

Significant rainfall is not forecast to reach into the Big Bend area of the state with the disturbance or the system from the west.

The system may also spoil some late summer fun along the Texas beaches.

In addition to showers and thunderstorms at the coast, winds and waves being produced by the system will bring an increasing risk of rough surf and strong rip currents.

Surf conditions will not improve until the center of the system has been inland for several hours beyond Friday.