Tropical Rainstorm Olga moves inland over southern US; Pablo to brush Azores

Updated Oct. 26, 2019 10:58 AM

A late-season tropical storm sprang to life on Friday over the Gulf of Mexico and was given the name Olga, the 17th-named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. And far out over the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Pablo formed late Friday afternoon.

Olga was a short-lived tropical storm as the system weakened to a tropical rainstorm off the coast of Louisiana on Friday night. Despite weakening, Olga will drench the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley and lower Great Lakes through Saturday as it moves northward.

The enhanced downpours could lead to numerous flooding incidents, even in areas experiencing long-term drought.

The last time a storm formed over the Gulf of Mexico this late in the season was when Juan took shape in 1985, according to Philip Klotzbach, a Colorado State University meteorologist.

This GOES-EAST satellite image shows Olga moving inland across Louisiana early Saturday morning, Oct. 26, 2019. (NOAA)

The center of the system moved ashore along the Louisiana coast, west of New Orleans, early Saturday morning.

Americans in the storm's path can expect copious amounts of rain and gusty thunderstorms northward from the central Gulf coast and the lower Mississippi and Tennessee valleys. Isolated tornadoes will be possible in portions of Mississippi and Alabama.

The AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes is less-than-one for this storm and is based on the amount of rain to fall over the South Central states with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 8 inches.

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Meanwhile, a second tropical storm took shape on Friday afternoon.

A rapidly strengthening disturbance became Tropical Storm Pablo on Friday afternoon in the Atlantic Ocean near the Azores.

Pablo poses no threat to the United States or Atlantic Canada, but it will bring some rain and gusty winds to the Azores over the weekend, and shipping in the area can be impacted.

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