Nws Southern Region Tropical Webpage (2024)

FAQs

Is there another tropical storm coming to Gulf? ›

There are currently no active storms in the North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of Mexico.

Tropical cyclone development is not expected during the next 7 days. For the latest on the tropics, please visit the National Hurricane Center (NHC) at www.hurricanes.gov.

There are 122 NWS Weather Forecast Offices across the nation serving areas that typically consist of 20 to 50 counties (more info). Each office has its own social media accounts to keep you informed and up-to-date on the latest forecasts, watches and warnings for the local area.

In the state of Texas, Houston, Galveston, and other cities and areas near the Gulf Coast often get hit with heavy rains, winds, storms, as well as significant structural damage, whenever hurricane season is in effect.

Great Galveston Hurricane

The Great Galveston Hurricane decimated the island city on the Gulf Coast of Texas on Sept. 8, 1900. This hurricane is known as the deadliest weather disaster in United States history, killing at least 8,000 people, with some estimates as high as 12,000 people.

There are no tropical cyclones in the Eastern North Pacific at this time. There are no tropical cyclones in the Central North Pacific at this time.

The climate of the north and central parts of the U.S. state of Florida is humid subtropical. South Florida has a tropical climate. There is a defined rainy season from May through October when air-mass thundershowers that build in the heat of the day drop heavy but brief summer rainfall.

Torrential rain in Florida primarily results from the passing of low pressure systems through or close to it. The most well known low pressure system is the tropical hurricane, which is capable of producing truly enormous amounts of precipitation over a short period of time.

Sea levels across Florida are as much as 8 inches higher than they were in 1950, and the rate of sea level rise is accelerating.

The National Weather Service (NWS) is a component of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA is an Operating Unit of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

How accurate is NOAA? ›

A seven-day forecast can accurately predict the weather about 80 percent of the time and a five-day forecast can accurately predict the weather approximately 90 percent of the time. However, a 10-day—or longer—forecast is only right about half the time.

Each weather forecast office (WFO) has a geographic area of responsibility, also known as a county warning area (CWA), for issuing local public, marine, aviation, fire, and hydrology forecasts.

Texas has never had a hurricane make landfall in the state while at Category 5 strength. Hurricane Harvey was the most recent major hurricane to hit, striking near Rockport in 2017. The map below shows the location of each tropical landfall in Texas since 1850.

Throughout McAllen's recorded weather history, there has yet to see a serious hurricane or storm to make landfall directly over the area and remains as a low-risk area compared to other Texas cities closer to the Gulf of Mexico.

Texas' Gulf Coast, southeast Texas, and south Texas are those most vulnerable to heavy rains, tropical storms, and hurricanes. Vulnerable cities include Galveston, Austin, Houston, and anywhere along the coast when hurricane season strikes.

A new study published today in Nature Climate Change now documents that over the past 20 years, the Gulf Stream has warmed faster than the global ocean as a whole and has shifted towards the coast.

Hurricanes originate in the Atlantic basin, which includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico, the eastern North Pacific Ocean, and, less frequently, the central North Pacific Ocean.

Whether you call them twisters or tornadoes, these storms in real life are far from entertainment: They are deadly forces of nature. Every year, 2024 included, tornadoes carve paths of immense destruction in just minutes, causing tragic loss of life and property.

Sorry to say it but it comes down to climate change. Warm air is able to hold more moisture and according to the BBC, for every degree of warming, the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere increases by around 7% fuelling more intense rainfall.