Several states are facing a host of severe weather threats as a strong storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico collides with another system to bring tropical moisture to the southern part of the United States this weekend, with three states seeing an increased risk of wet weather.
On Friday, AccuWeather shared a map showing the areas most likely to receive the heaviest rain through Sunday. The incoming storm is expected to form in the Gulf of Mexico and then combine with another storm that produced snow in Colorado and New Mexico earlier this week. Meteorologists said the combining systems will result in a tropical-like storm that will dump excessive rain on several states.
The states most at risk for getting rain from the colliding storms are Texas, Louisiana and Florida. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia also are slated to receive rain, according to AccuWeather's map.
In addition, the system could evolve into a subtropical storm before hitting Florida this weekend, AccuWeather reported.
A different map created by the National Weather Service (NWS) showed that Florida faced the most severe threats from the storm in the form of thunderstorms, rain, flash flooding and some isolated tornados. Nearly all of Florida is at risk for heavy rain and flash flooding, with the southern half of the Sunshine State facing a risk of severe thunderstorms. West central Florida and southwest Florida could receive 1 to 3 inches of rain, with 2 to 4 inches being forecasted along the state's nature coast.
"Our biggest worries are marine hazards," NWS senior meteorologist Jennifer Hubbard told Newsweek. "Hazardous conditions on our coastal waters are currently occurring and will continue through the weekend into Monday."
Hazardous seas extend from Chiefland, Florida, south to Fort Myers, and Chiefland south to Sarasota are under a coastal flood watch, according to an NWS Tampa Bay post on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
The storm system could bring isolated tornados and damaging winds to Florida on Saturday. Coastal waters are expected to rise 2 to 3 feet above normal tides in the Tampa Bay area, heightening the risk for flooding.
Rain also will hit much of Texas and all of Louisiana. Eastern Texas and western Louisiana are at an increased chance of rain, with NWS's Houston office warning of minor flooding. NWS New Orleans warned of minor coastal flooding of 1 to 2 feet along east-facing coasts in Louisiana on Friday and Saturday night.
After the storm hits the south, it will then move northeastward.
"After gathering steam from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico early this weekend, the storm will rocket up the Eastern states on Sunday and Monday along a path that is typical of storms during the winter months but carrying an amount of moisture usually seen during the summer," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Bill Deger said in a Thursday report.
Meanwhile, the storm comes after a week of countless winter weather advisories that threatened travel in areas like Maine, New Mexico and Colorado.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
