Tropical Storm Arthur forms, to raise flood risk in southern U.S.
A tropical rainstorm that has been gathering downpours along the Texas coast as become Tropical Storm Arthur. The main impacts will be from torrential rain that can lead to dangerous flooding.
The first named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season is official as of June 17. Tropical Storm Arthur formed just off the coast of Texas and is expected to make landfall later in the day.
A mass of showers and thunderstorms that has been sprawling across Texas and northern Mexico in recent days over South Texas consolidated into Tropical Storm Arthur on Wednesday. Life-threatening flooding, property damage and disruptions to commerce and travel may unfold as inches of rain pour down over a portion of the southeastern United States into Friday.
The gathering of moisture originates from former eastern Pacific Tropical Storm Cristina, a tropical wave of low pressure from Africa, a stalled weather front and the jet stream.
This image of the Gulf of Mexico was taken on Wednesday morning, June 17, 2026, and shows a wind-sheared, budding Tropical Storm Arthur near the Texas coast. The main impacts will continue to be from torrential rain and flooding. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite).
Tropical Storm Arthur will track along the Texas coast on Wednesday, then is forecast to push well inland Wednesday night, where it will lose wind intensity.
AccuWeather dubbed the feature a tropical rainstorm earlier this week to raise public awareness of the impending threat for flooding rainfall, which will be Arthur's main impact.
For the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to declare a tropical storm has formed and assign a name, the entity must have a defined circulation with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph or greater. At 10 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, the NHC has issued a Potential Tropical Cyclone for the area of interest.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from High Island, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana. A Tropical Storm Watch is also in effect for the northeastern Texas coast from Sargent to High Island.
Because of the forecast short duration near the Gulf, a rapid intensification to a powerful hurricane is unlikely.
"A significant flood risk exists each day this week, shifting slowly eastward from Texas into Wednesday to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia during the second half of the week," AccuWeather Vice President of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin said.
Tropical Storm Arthur, will enhance the moisture and areas of rain already in place. So much rain can pour down (potentially 2-3 inches per hour in extreme cases) and easily overwhelm storm drains, leading to rapidly rising water on city streets and highways.
"This area can further amplify the flood risk along the Texas coast, extending into the Houston area for a time on Wednesday, which would coincide with the World Cup match that afternoon," said DePodwin. "Although the match is inside, flooding could cause road closures and cause dangerous travel conditions for those heading to the event."
In terms of total rainfall, a broad zone exists where 4-8 inches of rain is forecast from South Texas to eastern Alabama. Within this zone, a substantial area is forecast to receive 8-12 inches of rain over a multiple-day period, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 20 inches.
The impacts on catch basins, drainage ditches and small streams will be almost immediate. Hours to days later, that water will flow into area rivers and bayous, with numerous locations experiencing minor to moderate flooding. Depending on where the heaviest rain falls, major flooding can occur on some rivers during the latter part of this week and into early next week.
These rivers in Texas will be at risk for flooding: Neches, Guadalupe, Brazos, San Antonio, Trinity, Colorado and Nueces. Farther to the east, these rivers are also likely to experience significant rises: Sabine, Calcasieu, Pearl, Tombigbee and Alabama, to name a few.
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Along with the risk of flooding, a tropical storm hovering near the Gulf Coast will generate some wind with rough surf and choppy seas for much of this week over the northwestern third of the Gulf.
Locally severe thunderstorms will add to the strong wind gust risk with the potential for a few tornadoes or waterspouts to develop from the upper Texas coast to southern Louisiana and the panhandles of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Tropical storm-force wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph are possible along the upper Texas coast and the western part of the Louisiana coast into Wednesday night.
A storm surge of 1-3 feet is anticipated from the upper Texas coast to the Louisiana coast, with locally higher amounts of 3-6 feet possible near where the center of Arthur moves inland.
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