Tropical Storm Olga forms in Gulf of Mexico
Tropical Storm Olga forms in Gulf of Mexico
Forecasters say Tropical Storm Olga has formed in the Gulf of Mexico while Tropical Storm Pablo has formed in the northeast Atlantic. On Friday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said the storm is expected to soon merge with a cold front and become a post-tropical low with gale-force winds.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Tropical Storm Olga has formed in the western Gulf of Mexico. It is expected to soon merge with a cold front and become what forecasters are calling a post-tropical low as it closes in on Louisiana, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The system is currently located about 260 miles (418 kilometers) south-southwest of Lake Charles, Louisiana moving north at 18 mph (29 kph). Maximum sustained winds are at 40 mph (64 kph).
The National Hurricane Center is not issuing tropical storm warnings because Olga will become a non-tropical low at that point. They say other weather warnings will be issued as needed because tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles, mainly to the northeast of the storm's center. A tornado watch had been issued for southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama, and a powerful storm prompted a tornado warning near Mobile, but no damage was reported.
Although it is not expected to be a threat to Florida, FOX 35 Chief Meteorologist Glenn Richards says the state will see some rain from this short-lived system.
"Olga is expected to be a tropical storm for only four hours before it becomes extra-tropical. A cold front is just hours away from sucking it up and destroying the circulation within it," Richards said.
Rain chances remain high all weekend for Central Florida. Parts of coastal Louisiana could receive as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain Friday and Saturday, forecasters said, and 4 inches (10 centimeters) was possible across a wide section of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Meanwhile, a large non-tropical low centered a few hundred miles southwest of the western Azores has a 50-percent chance of developing over the next 2 to 5 days.
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