Flooding had already started overnight Friday with reports of high water on the roads and stranded vehicles.
Tropical Storm Claudette formed on Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast, causing heavy rains and flooding in coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said in a 4 a.m. (08:00 GMT) advisory that the storm was located 45 miles (75 km) southwest of New Orleans with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 km / h).
Flooding had already started overnight Friday with reports of high water on the roads and stranded vehicles. Flash flood warnings dotted the coast as flood watches were in effect well inland for parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and central and northern Georgia.
Here are the key messages for the new Tropical Storm Claudette early Saturday morning. The latest NHC forecasts are at https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB and your local weather forecast is at https://t.co/SiZo8ohZMN pic.twitter.com/eBc6pqw08J
– National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) June 19, 2021
The storm, which is heading north into the Gulf of Mexico, is likely to dump five inches (13 cm) to 10 inches (25 cm) of rain with parts of the Gulf Coast and even 15 inches (38 cm ) in isolated areas, according to forecasters from the National Hurricane Center.
In Louisiana, the threat came a month after spring storms and flooding that were responsible for five deaths, and as parts of the state continued to slowly recover from a brutal 2020. hurricane season.
This included Tropical Storm Cristobal which opened the season last June, Hurricanes Laura and Delta which devastated southwest Louisiana, and Hurricane Zeta who fell trees and cut electricity for days in New Orleans in October.
Mexico, while receiving rain from the storm in the Gulf, was also threatened by a storm in the Pacific.
Tropical Storm Dolores formed on Friday and is expected to hit its west-central coast on Saturday evening, possibly near hurricane force, according to the National Hurricane Center.
