Tropical Storm Cindy

Early Thursday morning, between 2 am and 4 am, radar and surface observations made it clear that Cindy hit full force in Cameron Country, Louisiana and other Southern states. Winds were between 40 and 45 miles per hour, but  Cindy has been named a tropical depression as of mid-morning Thursday since the start of the storm.

Despite the evident weakening of the storm as of now,  risk of severe thunderstorms and excessive flooding are to be expected. In fact, the thunderstorms and flooding are expected to continue along the Central Gulf Coast and part of the South.

There is minor flooding currently in Louisiana and Western Florida, which are expected to die down. However, the deep south and other parts in the US are at risk of serious flooding from Cindy, especially since many cities have been experiencing rainfall for a while before Cindy hit. Cities that will potentially experience flooding problems from the storm include Mobile, Alabama; Pensacola, Florida; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Lake Charles, Louisiana and New Orleans, Baton Rouge.

Furthermore, there is a major risk of tornadoes and infrastructure damage in the future. With the storm pushing inland, the risk of isolated tornadoes may be inevitable in Northern parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, Southern Tennessee, and southeastern Arkansas to continue through Thursday night. Additionally, on the Gulf of Mexico a tenacious flow of air will make for hazardous surf and rip currents unlike ever seen before.

So far, one death occurred in Alabama and came ashore in Houston, Texas due to hurricane Cindy’s strength. Though we might be safe here in San Diego, it is important to keep the families suffering from Cindy in your thoughts today and until the storm ends. We hope that Cindy, being the third tropical storm of 2017, will pass sooner rather than later and be the last of the year.