Tropical Storm Hanna in Gulf of Mexico sends Texas coast on alert, is this mark of a 'record' hurricane season?
Tropical Depression Eight is now officially Tropical Storm Hanna and is expected to strengthen further prior to making landfall along the South Texas coast this weekend, on July 25. Tropical Storm Hanna is the earliest eighth storm on record, according to the hurricane center. The previous record was in 2005 when Harvey formed on August 3 that year. The average day that the 8th named storm develops is September 24.
As of 10 pm CDT on July 23, Hanna was moving towards the Texas coast with sustained wind speeds of 35 knots (40 miles per hour), moving towards the coat in a west-northwest direction at 6 knots or 7 miles per hour. The hurricane center said strengthening is expected until landfall, but Hanna is not forecast to become a hurricane. The hurricane center’s intensity forecast shows Hanna’s winds reaching as high as 65 mph before landfall.
The National Hurricane Center noted that parts of the northern and western Gulf Coast, particularly the Texas and Louisiana coasts, could see bands of showers and thunderstorms from this system through this weekend, adding that persistent winds blowing onshore to the east of the system may produce areas of high surf, rip currents and possibly some minor coastal flooding, particularly along the northern Gulf Coast.
An inch or more of rain is probable in the above-mentioned areas through the weekend. Some locations could see over 4 inches of rain along the Lower Texas Coast and across South Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The hurricane center also continued to monitor Tropical Storm Gonzalo as it tracked toward the Windward Islands on July 23. Gonzalo got weaker on July 23 but still could become a hurricane — the first of the year in the Atlantic Ocean. On the eastern Pacific, major Hurricane Douglas had 130 miles per hour winds and was on a path that would take it into Hawaii in a few days while on a weakening trend.
Meteorologist and author Eric Holthaus had earlier taken to Twitter to warn about Hanna. Holthaus had tweeted, "The Gulf of Mexico is currently much warmer than normal, and (as usual during hurricane season) home to some of the warmest waters in the entire Atlantic basin. There's plenty of fuel available for Hanna to intensify. Watch this storm closely if you're in Texas." Holthaus also noted that the hurricane season is "on a record pace this year" and that Tropical Storm Hanna will be "good practice" to prepare for the rest of the season.
Meteorologist Shane Holinde tweeted, "T.D. #8 is now TS #Hanna in the Central Gulf of Mexico. That's the earliest we've ever reached the 'H' name in the Atlantic basin since the naming of tropical storms/hurricanes began back in the early 1950s." Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach tweeted, "4 named storms have formed in the Atlantic since July 6 (Edouard, Fay, #Gonzalo and #Hanna) — the most Atlantic named storms to form between July 6 and July 23 on record. The prior record was 3 set in 1997."