Gulf Coast downpours to jeopardize outdoor plans, enhance flood threat early next week

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather meteorologist

June 30, 2018, 5:14:58 AM EDT

Heavy rainfall along the Gulf Coast will threaten to ruin outdoor plans, disrupt travel and potentially trigger flooding from Sunday into the Fourth of July.

A storm system caught underneath a broad area of high pressure will move along the Gulf Coast late this weekend into the middle of next week, according to AccuWeather Long-Range Meteorologist Max Vido.

The storm system’s downpours will congregate along the Interstate-10 corridor from the Florida Panhandle to southeastern Texas, but they will move in a rather unusual manner—from east to west.

This is due to the movement of air around the area of high pressure, which will push the wet weather in the opposite direction than that which people in the United States are used to experiencing.

This will result in Pensacola, Florida, first getting soaked from Sunday to Monday, followed by Mobile, Alabama; Biloxi, Mississippi; and New Orleans on Monday and Tuesday and finally Houston by Wednesday, July Fourth.

AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski is monitoring this feature given its close proximity to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. However, odds are against a tropical system forming.

Regardless, residents and visitors hoping to get outdoors will need to have alternate indoor plans in mind.

“These downpours will wreak havoc on those hoping to enjoy an outdoor barbecue or a visit to the Gulf Coast beaches,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun said.

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Worse than ruining plans, downpours could produce enough rainfall to trigger flooding in some locations.

Rathbun expects flooding problems will be localized in nature, but the flood risk will become greater if the storm system slows down or stalls for a time.

Motorists will need to be sure their windshield wipers are in good working condition before heading out on the roadway as visibility is likely to be reduced.

Travel may be slowed not only on the roadways, but also in the air. Flight delays in New Orleans and Houston are possible.

“On July Fourth, the main downpours will focus from western Louisiana into eastern Texas, including Houston," Rathbun said.

Cookouts may have to be moved indoors and firework displays postponed along this corridor.

People across the rest of the Gulf Coast and inland areas of the South will need to be on the lookout for more typical summertime thunderstorms on the holiday, but a complete washout is not expected, according to Rathbun.

The uptick in wet weather may also trim temperatures from the 90s F to the 80s F along the coast for the first half of next week.