MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico will bring heavy rain and gusty wind to the Mid-South by Thursday and Friday, forecasters predict.
Tropical Storm Francine will eventually intensify into a category 1 hurricane before making landfall in Louisiana late Wednesday. The storm is expected to bring heavy rain, high wind, and storm surge to the Louisiana coast.
After landfall, what's left of the storm will continue to move northward, impacting Memphis and the Mid-South by Wednesday night into Thursday and Friday.
Heavy rain potential
The biggest threat from Francine in the Memphis area will likely be the heavy rain. Rain will begin to pick up late Wednesday night and continue through much of the day Thursday and Thursday night. Showers are also possible into portions of Friday as well. In total, many neighborhoods will pick up 2 to 4 inches of rain, but some areas could see up to 5 or 6 inches.
That rain will help our serious drought condition, but since the ground is so dry, rain won't be able to soak into the ground as easily, which could lead to flash flooding concerns in parts of the Mid-South.
High wind gusts possible
This tropical system will bring gusty winds to the Memphis area Thursday and Thursday night. Gusts are looking more likely that they could reach upwards of 40mph. There is a low-end chance of seeing winds exceeding 55mph, which would be a much greater impact.
Tornado threat
As with any landfalling tropical system, the storm could spin up quick tornadoes as it moves further inland. Tornadoes are more likely on the right side of the storm track, so it'll depend on where the center of the storm ends up to determine where quick, spin-up tornadoes are possible.
Here is more from our sister station in New Orleans.
