Tropical Storm Nate could hit the U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend as Hurricane Nate, the National Hurricane Center is predicting.
The mass of thunderstorms in the southwestern Caribbean was declared the 16th tropical depression of the Atlantic hurricane season, The Washington Post reported. Tropical Storm Nate could reach the Gulf of Mexico by Friday, and reach Louisiana and Florida’s West Coast by Sunday, the NHC said.
“The system is forecast to continue strengthening over the Gulf of Mexico and could affect portions of the northern Gulf Coast as a hurricane this weekend, with direct impacts from wind, storm surge, and heavy rainfall,” the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday. “However, it is too early to specify the timing or magnitude of these impacts.”
If Tropical Storm Nate makes landfall as Hurricane Nate on Sunday, it could travel northward along the East Coast bringing heavy rain along the Eastern Seaboard through Wednesday, the Post reported.
It’s been a particularly tumultuous hurricane season, with five major storms making landfall and claiming the lives of hundreds.
