Tropical Storm Possible For Gulf Coast This Weekend

MOBILE, AL — July is a popular month for beach travel in Alabama, and the Alabama Gulf Coast and Florida Panhandle rank among the top beach destinations for Alabama vacationers. However, this coming weekend may not be the best weekend to enjoy these areas, if a storm currently brewing in the Gulf of Mexico turns into a tropical storm.

A report by the National Weather Service says a tropical depression or tropical storm is expected to form south of the central Gulf Coast by Thursday. If it becomes a tropical storm, the name will be Barry. The system is not expected to reach hurricane strength, however.

For now, NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has the heaviest rain from the Mississippi coast west to southeast Texas. Lighter amounts are predicted from Dauphin Island over to Panama City Beach.

Does that mean Alabamians should cancel travel plans to the Gulf? Not necessarily. Until the system actually develops over the Gulf, confidence is low in forecasting the axis of the heaviest rain. This forecast can and probably will change in coming days, according to the NWS.

For those asking if they should cancel a beach trip, I can’t answer that," said meteorologist James Spann in an Alabama News Center report. "Different people go to the beach for different reasons. I would not hesitate to go, but I am not the one looking for a bright, sunny day. Just understand you will have occasional showers and thunderstorms later this week, with the highest impact Thursday and Friday. Dangerous surf and rip tides are likely on these days, and a brief waterspout or tornado is possible in spots. But it won’t rain all day Thursday and Friday. Then, showers and storms slowly decrease in number over the weekend."

Spann added, "I would suggest for the Alabama and northwest Florida coasts the most widespread rain will come Thursday and Friday, but even then it won’t rain all day. Showers and storms remain possible over the weekend, but they become more scattered in nature as the tropical feature drifts westward."

For inland parts of Alabama, the combination of deeper moisture from the tropical feature and a surface front stalling out near the Tennessee border will bring numerous showers and thunderstorms Thursday and Friday. Showers and storms remain possible over the weekend, but they are expected to slow. Highs drop into the upper 80s by Friday and Saturday because of increased cloud cover and the shower/thunderstorm activity.