Flooding catastrophe from Harvey to persist in Texas, Louisiana as locally severe storms erupt
While Harvey has made its final landfall in the United States and will ultimately diminish over land, impact from the storm will be ongoing as new incidents of flooding and severe weather occur.
Ongoing and new flooding to threaten southern US
"Very heavy rainfall will continue as Harvey's intensity slowly diminishes," according to AccuWeather Lead Storm Warning Meteorologist Eddie Walker.
The heaviest rain and greatest risk of flooding will expand into the Ohio Valley on Friday. However, flooding will generally be limited to poor drainage and urban areas, as the major rivers in the region should be able to handle this much water with nothing more than minor problems.
Catastrophic flooding will continue in Houston and in Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, to Lake Charles, Louisiana, despite the departure of the rain. A number of large oil refineries and chemical plants are located in Beaumont and Port Arthur area.
This area has received 1 to 4 feet of rain. Some gauges near the upper Texas coast suggest that Harvey was the single-greatest rainstorm in the history of the continental U.S. with rainfall up to 51.88 inches.
Based on current and anticipated conditions, AccuWeather is fearful the number of direct and indirect fatalities may go much higher in the coming days. It may take flood water many weeks to recede in some locations in Harvey's wake. The cost of Harvey may top that of Katrina.
Isolated tornado risk to expand eastward
Farther east, rain and thunderstorms will organize into bands. In between the bands, the sun may appear for a time.
As Harvey turns more to the east across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on Friday then the mid-Atlantic states this weekend, the risk of locally heavy, gusty thunderstorms will focus over the Southeastern states.
"The greatest threats from these storms will be isolated tornadoes, waterspouts and brief heavy rainfall," Walker said.
The threat of isolated tornadoes will be much lower on Friday and into this weekend when compared to the past few days.
Enough rain can fall in the downpours to lead to urban and low-lying area flooding on a localized basis.
More tropical systems bear watching into mid-September
There are two new tropical players of concern. One will be located over the western Gulf of Mexico and may bring coastal areas from Texas to the Florida Panhandle heavy rain for part of next week.
Another is more of a long-range concern. Irma, over the south-central Atlantic is destined to become a major hurricane, prior to approaching the northern Caribbean during the middle of next week. This system may approach North America prior to the middle of the month.
"The next several weeks is likely to be very busy in the Atlantic basin, not only due to the number of tropical systems likely to develop, but systems that may affect North America and the U.S.," AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
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