MIAMI — A disorganized cluster of storms that had been plaguing the Gulf Coast for days came together to form Tropical Storm Arthur on Wednesday – the first tropical cyclone of the season in the Atlantic basin.
Flash flooding was the main threat from Arthur, a weak tropical storm that the National Hurricane Center in Miami said would be short-lived. Maximum sustained winds were around 45 mph, with little change in strength forecast before it is expected to dissipate by Wednesday night or early Thursday. A tropical storm warning remained in effect for a roughly 350-mile stretch along the coast of Texas and Louisiana.
The storm hung over coastal Texas on the same day a World Cup match was being played between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Houston. The stadium is covered, and no plans were announced to move or reschedule the match.
National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan said during a briefing that flash flood warnings were already being issued in the Houston metro area, with more likely to follow across the region, even after the center of the storm passes.
“The main threat from Arthur is going to be a prolonged, multiday, heavy rainfall event that could produce dangerous to life-threatening flash flooding,” Brennan said.
Following heavy rains earlier in the week, a teenager appears to have drowned in a flooded retention pond outside Houston, authorities said Tuesday evening. A group of teens was playing near a construction zone and an adjacent retention pond when a 15-year-old boy entered the water, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said on social media. Rescue workers found his body using sonar technology following an extensive search.
“This incident serves as a solemn reminder of the dangers associated with floodwaters, particularly following periods of heavy rainfall,” the post said.
With the storm so spread out, forecasters weren’t particularly concerned with when and where the center would make landfall.
“A lot of the winds have already been occurring along portions of the coast of Texas and Louisiana,” National Hurricane Center operations chief Dan Brown said. “And there’s also been a lot a heavy rainfall that’s kind of preceded both the development of the storm and center of the storm.”
Flooding was likely through Friday over parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, the hurricane center said.
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno and other city officials urged residents to take the storm seriously during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Police were preparing boats and setting up barricades in known flood areas, and city workers were setting up locations for residents to collect sandbags.
Although Arthur isn’t the type of major hurricane that New Orleans has been hit by in the past, officials characterized it as a good chance for both city officials and residents to review and update their emergency response plans.
“We are asking the people of New Orleans to really do what the city government has done, and that is to just be prepared, stay weather alert, and we’ll see what comes our way,” Moreno said. “But whatever comes our way, we’ll be ready to deal with it.”
The tropical storm is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches, with isolated higher totals near 20 inches. The combination of storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline.
Swells generated by Arthur are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the northwestern Gulf Coast for the next couple of days. Tornadoes are possible through Thursday.
The center of Tropical Storm Arthur was located Wednesday afternoon about 55 miles northeast of Port O’Connor, Texas, according to an advisory. The storm was moving northeast near 9 mph, and an increase in forward speed was expected.
