Nate to spread heavy rain across southern US to Ohio Valley into Sunday night
Nate will continue to speed northward across the southern United States to the Ohio Valley bringing flooding, gusty winds and isolated tornadoes into Sunday night.
The storm made its first landfall in far southeastern Louisiana near the mouth of the Mississippi River on Saturday evening. A second landfall occurred near Biloxi, Mississippi, around 12:30 a.m. CDT Sunday. Nate has since weakened to a tropical depression, but still poses a threat to lives and property.
Heavy rain, isolated tornadoes and locally gusty winds being the primary impacts moving forward.
Heavy rain will continue to be a threat across the Deep South and Tennessee and Ohio Valleys into Sunday night as Nate's moisture surges northward.
"Rainfall totals of 4-8 inches will occur from the Panhandle of Florida through Alabama, eastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia Sunday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Rob Miller said.
Farther north, rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are expected across the Ohio River Valley to the West Virginia Appalachians.
Storm drains that may be clogged with leaves will also be a factor that can lead to flooding.
Beyond Sunday, the heaviest rain will shift into the northeastern U.S.
While winds are not as strong as they were when Nate came onshore, there will still be isolated wind gusts strong enough to cause minor property damage, push down weak trees and lead to sporadic power outages into Sunday night near Nate's center.
With Nate moving very quickly, wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph will extend across Alabama and into northwestern Georgia near the center of the system.
Isolated tornadoes can also occur well east of the center of Nate into Sunday night. Outer rain bands from tropical systems can quickly spin up tornadoes, so folks will want to be on alert.
"The greatest threat for tornadoes will exist across parts of the Florida Panhandle, Alabama and far western Georgia Sunday," Miller said.
Areas near the coast will continue to deal with coastal flooding into Sunday evening as strong winds continue to blow inland from the Gulf of Mexico. Water should gradually recede after being pushed inland through the day.
Areas just east of where the center of Nate came onshore could still face coastal flooding through Sunday, which includes Alabama, Mississippi and the western Panhandle of Florida. The eastern coast of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina may also experience coastal flooding.
Wind and wave action will produce rough seas and dangerous surf throughout the Gulf of Mexico through Sunday.
The greatest coastal impacts will focus from part of the central Gulf Coast to the upper west coast of the Florida Peninsula.
Small craft throughout the Gulf of Mexico should remain in port. Bathers should avoid venturing beyond knee-deep water due to rip currents.
Conditions are expected to improve through the day Sunday for much of the Gulf Coast as Nate speeds away to the north.
The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season has been very active with several devastating storms. Including Nate, there have been 14 tropical storms, eight hurricanes and five major hurricanes thus far.
AccuWeather is projecting a total of 17 tropical storms, which includes 11 hurricanes, through December 2017 in the Atlantic basin. The Atlantic basin includes the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Hurricane season officially ends at the end of November.
“Clearly this has been the costliest hurricane season in history and has permanently changed many aspects of hurricane preparation and will impact future building codes, and also will affect insurance protection and rates among many other future impacts,” said Dr. Joel N. Myers, Founder, President and Chairman of AccuWeather. "We estimate damage from [Nate] to remain under $5 billion."
