A tropical depression in the northeastern Gulf, off the Florida coast, is forecast to become a tropical storm and strike Louisiana, then weaken into a depression as it moves toward the Texas coast, according to the National Weather Service office in Corpus Christi.
Impacts on South Texas will be dependent on how closely the system interacts with land along the northern Gulf coast, the weather service reported in a bulletin this afternoon (Monday, July 20).
“Regardless of the system’s exact track, increasing easterly swell is expected to arrive along the Middle Texas Coast late this week, leading to deteriorating marine conditions with rougher surf, a heightened risk of rip currents and an increasing potential for minor coastal flooding,” the bulletin said.
As of 1 p.m., the depression had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. A tropical storm has wind speeds of 39 to 73 mph.