A cluster of storms along the Gulf Coast could become the first named tropical storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center said. The storms threatened to bring heavy downpours that could lead to dangerous floods across southern states including Texas and Louisiana.

The system was centered Tuesday afternoon about 55 miles south-southwest of Corpus Christi, Texas, according to a hurricane center advisory. National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan said meteorologists are expecting the system to strengthen, possibly into a tropical storm by early Wednesday.

Storm Impacts

Coastal areas could experience tropical storm conditions this week, even if the system doesn’t officially get a name, Brennan said. The main hazard with these types of systems is largely the flooding from the heavy rainfall, and we could see potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding across the Texas coast eastward into central Mississippi through Thursday.

Tornadoes were possible from the upper Texas coast across southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle, forecasters said. The storm’s maximum sustained winds were around 30 mph, just shy of the 39 mph needed to be named a tropical storm.

A tropical storm watch was already in effect from Sargent, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana. Rough surf could cause rip currents along the Gulf for the next couple of days. By Thursday, the storms could drop 4 to 8 inches of rain, with isolated totals of a foot in coastal areas.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.