Tropical Storm Debby forms in the Central Gulf of Mexico...
...Tropical Storm Warning issued for a portion of the Louisiana Coast...
Summary of 400 PM CDT...2100 UTC...Information
Location...Latitude 26.2N...Longitude 87.6W or about 220 miles SSE of the Mouth of the Mississippi River
Maximum Sustained winds...50 mph
Present Movement...North at 6 mph M
Minimum Pressure...29.56 inches
Watches and Warnings: A Tropical Storm Warning has been issued from the Mouth of the Pearl River westward to Morgan City, Louisiana...not including the city of New Orleans or Lake Pontchartrain.
Summary of Watches and Warnings in effect... A Tropical Storm warning is in effect for... * the coast of Louisiana from the Mouth of the Pearl River westward to Morgan City...not including the City of New Orleans or Lake Pontchartrain. A Tropical Storm Warning means that Tropical Storm Conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours. For storm information specific to your area...including possible inland watches and warnings...please monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service Forecast Office.
Discussion and 48-hour Outlook
Aircraft Reconnaissance and buoy data indicate that the area of low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico has become Tropical Storm Debby. At 4:00 PM...the center of Tropical Storm Debby was located near Latitude 26.2 North...Longitude 87.6 West. Debby is moving toward the north near 6 mph...9 km/h. A slow northward motion is expected tonight...followed by a westward turn on Sunday. On the forecast track...the center of Debby will be moving over the Northern Gulf of Mexico during the next few days. Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph...85 km/h...with higher gusts. These winds are occurring well east of the center of circulation. Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours. Tropical Storm-Force Winds extend outward up to 175 miles...280 km to the east of the center. Minimum central pressure estimated from reconnaissance data is 29.56 inches.
Hazards affecting land
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Wind...Tropical Storm Conditions are expected to first reach the coast within the warning area by Sunday Night...making outside preparations difficult or dangerous.
Storm Surge...the combination of a storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters. The water could reach the following depths above ground if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide... Mississippi and Southeastern Louisiana...1 to 3 ft the deepest water will occur along the immediate coast in areas of onshore flow. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle...and can vary greatly over short distances. For information specific to your area...please see products issued by your local National Weather Service Office.
Rainfall...Debby is expected to produce rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches along the Gulf Coast from Southern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle...with possible isolated maximum amounts of 10 inches.
