As you should know by now, Tropical Storm Cristobal has formed in the Bay of Campeche and is slowly organizing and gaining strength. It is predicted to pick up speed moving to the north and is expected to make landfall along the central Louisiana coast sometime late Sunday. The forecasts have been quite consistent so there is no concern at this time for the storm moving over the Southeast. However, its current predicted path puts us squarely in strong southerly flow into our region from the Gulf of Mexico, which will enhance the amount of rain the region gets, particularly those areas that are near the Gulf Coast. Amounts of up to 7 inches may be observed in some isolated locations there. This also includes most of Florida, including the Florida Peninsula. There may be some showers over the next few days, but the bulk of the rain is expected to start on Saturday night along the Gulf Coast and last until Monday night. Areas farther north, including northern Alabama and Georgia, are likely to see the heaviest rain Monday night through Wednesday night, although amounts there will range from an inch to 2 inches in the higher elevations. Occasionally tropical storms will also spin up brief weak tornadoes ahead of their circulation, so you may be placed in a tornado watch as the storm approaches.
