NBC6’s Adam Berg has your forecast for today, Tuesday, August 22, 2023.
The tropics remained busy Tuesday with multiple areas of interest and yet another tropical storm forming overnight before making landfall in Texas.
Tropical Storm Harold formed overnight in the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall on Padre Island in Texas around 10 a.m. Tuesday.
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The storm had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph, with higher gusts, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
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A tropical storm warning was in effect for the mouth of the Rio Grande to Port O’Connor, Texas and a tropical storm watch was in effect for Port O’Connor to Sargent, Texas.
Rain amounts could hit 7 inches in some spots with up to 10 inches coming to northern portions of Mexico.
Harold was expected to steadily weaken as it moves over southern Texas and northern Mexico.
Local
Tropical Storm Franklin
Franklin is the other tropical storm of interest that was forecast to reach the southern coast of Hispaniola on Wednesday, traverse the island and move off of the northern coast and into the southwestern Atlantic late Wednesday or early Thursday.
The storm was about 230 miles south-southwest of Santo Domingo as it continued to drift to the northwest with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph, with higher gusts.
The forecast calls for landfall Wednesday in the Dominican Republic as a tropical storm. The slow forward speed means rain could be a big deal, as over a foot of rain could hit parts of the island. Landslide and mudslide potential remains high.
Tropical storm warnings were issued for portions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and a tropical storm watch was in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Franklin was expected to produce additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches, with storm total maxima of 6 inches, across Puerto Rico and Vieques into Thursday. Across portions of Hispaniola, rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches, with isolated higher amounts up to 15 inches, were expected through Wednesday.
Other areas of interest
Meanwhile, what had briefly been Tropical Storm Gert became post-tropical Tuesday morning, forecasters said. No watches or warnings were in effect.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Gert or its remnants should move west-northwestward to northwestward.
Forecasters are also monitoring the remnants of former Tropical Storm Emily near the Leeward Islands.
They believe the system could redevelop later this week or the weekend. It has a 20% chance of development over the next seven days.
There is also an area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms located a few hundred miles west of the Cape Verde Islands.
A tropical depression could develop for later this week as it moves west-northwestward across the eastern tropical Atlantic.
The system has about a 60% chance of formation over the next seven days.
