Dangerous flash flooding is possible from far east Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle on Tuesday before moving into the Florida peninsula on Wednesday.
Rain has been so heavy along the Gulf Coast that the National Weather Service in New Orleans issued a flash flood warning for parts of southeastern Louisiana Tuesday morning.
“The flash flood warning for Baton Rouge includes LSU,” said FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin. “So if you have students who are not very familiar with Louisiana, emphasize the importance of not driving.”
Rainfall totals could be 3 to 5 inches, with some areas potentially exceeding 6 inches in short order.
Heavy precipitation can cause flooding throughout the day.
Southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle are the areas most at risk.
Heavy rain is not the only problem with this system.
An isolated tornado or two is also possible as the cold front combines with the remnants of Tropical Storm Sarah.
“When you're dealing with this deep, rich tropical moisture, you end up with really huge amounts of rain from thunderstorms,” Merwin said. “There hasn't been much movement yet, but this cold front will start moving eastward, squeezing the moisture out of the atmosphere and releasing it all to the ground.”
It's a short-lived event. Conditions in the northern Gulf Coast should improve by Wednesday as this system lifts, but heavy rain is still possible across the Florida peninsula.
