HURRICANE WATCH ISSUED
TROPICAL STORM GORDON ON THE MOVE… Because of the slight, low-end chance that Tropical Storm Gordon may briefly ramp up to a category 1 hurricane right before landfall, a *Hurricane Watch* has been issued from the mouth of the Pearl River eastward to the Alabama-Florida border. This Hurricane Watch includes Mobile and Baldwin counties.
FORECAST CONE SHIFTS SLIGHTLY EAST… Now that Tropical Storm Gordon has formed and has a low-level center emerging over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, models are beginning to get a firm grip on the specifics of what we can expect. Because of the latest model runs, the National Hurricane Center has adjusted the “cone of uncertainty” a bit to the east. This means that we will have to adjust potential impacts to be slightly higher for coastal areas.
HEAVY RAIN STILL NUMBER ONE CONCERN… Yes, there will be gusty winds near the Alabama and northwest Florida beaches, BUT the bigger concern will be rainfall amounts as Gordon moves by. 3-6 inches of rain is now the latest thinking, especially for coastal areas with inland areas likely receiving much less (1-4″ of rain).
ISOLATED TORNADO THREAT… The overall tornado threat with Gordon will be limited, but there will be a low-end risk of tornadoes basically from Tuesday evening to Wednesday evening across our local area. Again, coastal areas have the highest risk of seeing a brief, isolated tornado. Inland areas have a lower-end isolated tornado risk.
We’ll have more updates throughout the day here in the RedZone Weather app. Be sure to visit the Alerts tab (bottom right corner) and tap the large, yellow “Alert Settings” button to customize the alerts you’d like to receive straight from me.