Tropical Rainstorm Sara, now in Gulf, to drench southern US coast
Sara, as a tropical rainstorm, will cruise northeastward over the Gulf of Mexico and douse areas from Louisiana to Florida with torrential downpours.
Tropical Storm Sara swept through Honduras from Nov. 15-16, causing widespread flooding that resulted in numerous water rescues.
While Sara is no longer a tropical storm it will still influence an uptick in moisture in the Gulf of Mexico and spread heavy rain into part of the United States.
Sara brought catastrophic, life-threatening flooding and mudslides over northern portions of Honduras, where over 40 inches of rain have fallen at some locations this past weekend. That rain, to a lesser extent, spread into other parts of Central America.
Sara moved across Belize and into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula Sunday afternoon and into Sunday night. The time over land caused Sara to lose wind intensity and become a tropical depression.
Monday morning, Sara became a tropical rainstorm and is tracking across the Gulf of Mexico.
As Sara moves along, a cold front will be advancing eastward through Arkansas and Louisiana. This front will draw some of Sara's moisture northward. Even though Sara will largely be stretched out and start to lose its identity by Monday night and Tuesday, its moisture will still enhance rainfall along the Gulf Coast.
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"Tropical Rainstorm Sara can bring flooding downpours to the northern Gulf Coast Monday night through Tuesday night, with a wide swath of 2-4 inches or more from eastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle," said AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ is 12 inches.
Heavy rain may also spread southward along the Florida Peninsula into midweek.
On Tuesday, Sara will turn northeastward toward part of the U.S. coast with gusty winds.
"Winds can occasionally gust to 40-60 mph, with the highest wind gusts likely to be confined to the coast and coinciding with any heavier downpours," noted DaSilva.
Landfall in Florida is likely on Wednesday morning as a tropical rainstorm. As the aforementioned cold front makes its way across Florida and interacts with Sara, there may even be the risk of a few severe thunderstorms. The most likely location for any severe weather would be across the Florida Peninsula.
DaSilva also pointed out that the spin associated with Sara could produce a few isolated tornadoes. With any stronger downpours and thunderstorms, locally higher wind gusts over 60 mph would be possible.
Even outside of the wind and rain areas, there will be another hazard that will affect the Gulf Coast.
"It is important to note that there will be a dangerous rip current risk along the Gulf Coast from Monday through Wednesday as a result of the tropical rainstorm," warned DaSilva.
After Sara, DaSilva said that while there could be a tropical or subtropical storm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean into early December, any U.S. impacts from additional tropical storms or hurricanes are highly unlikely for the rest of the year.
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