Updated
Updated · NBC News · Jun 18
Arthur Weakens to 35 mph Low as Southeast Faces Up to 20 Inches of Rain
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Jun 18

Arthur Weakens to 35 mph Low as Southeast Faces Up to 20 Inches of Rain

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Jun 18

Summary

  • Arthur was downgraded Wednesday night along the upper Texas coast, but the National Hurricane Center said its remnants could still bring life-threatening flooding across the Southeast through Friday.
  • Rainfall of 5 to 10 inches is forecast from Texas to the Florida Panhandle, with isolated totals near 20 inches, while tornadoes remain possible through Thursday and dangerous surf persists along the northwestern Gulf Coast.
  • Louisiana and Mississippi communities opened sandbag pickup sites, cleared drainage systems and readied boats and barricades; Picayune, Mississippi, had already declared an emergency after nearly 7 inches fell in six hours.
  • Arthur, the Atlantic season's first named storm, is expected to keep weakening inland over southeastern Texas and western Louisiana before crossing the Southeast on Thursday and Friday.

Insights

Is the Gulf Coast truly prepared for a storm whose main threat is catastrophic rain, not high winds?
Will new forecasting tech, like drones and updated alerts, prove its worth against this season's first unpredictable tropical storm?
With a forecast for a quiet season, what does this first storm reveal about the power of warm oceans versus El Niño?