CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. — Tropical Storm Harold made landfall over South Padre Island late morning, bringing strong winds, heavy rainfall, rough surf and some tornado risk. The system hit the Gulf Coast less than 48 hours after Tropical Storm Hilary swept through the California and Nevada deserts, dumping up to a year’s worth of rainfall there.
As of midday, the center of Harold was spinning inland across South Texas. Maximum sustained winds near the core were estimated to be around 45 mph, with gusts topping 50 mph. The storm made landfall with 50 mph sustained winds and will weaken rapidly today. Flash flooding was occurring midday around Corpus Christi, where up to 4 inches had fallen, with additional totals of 1 to 3 inches per hour possible into afternoon.
Harold emerged after a flurry of activity in the Atlantic that featured the formation of three named storms Sunday. Tropical storm warnings are also up for Hispaniola with an expectation of excessive rainfall and mudslides in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two countries that share the island.
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Two other storms, Gert and Emily, formed over the weekend, although both have dissipated. And there are two other systems to watch in the central and eastern Atlantic, although those storms should remain out to sea.
Mid-September marks the peak of hurricane season in the Atlantic, with a marked increase in activity usually occurring by mid- to late August. This year has been no exception, and experts continue to warn that despite an uncertain forecast, the season could be busier than normal.
Tropical Storm Harold
Harold matured quickly overnight, receiving a name at 1 a.m. Central time and earning tropical storm designation. Winds have to be 39 mph or greater for a system to attain tropical storm status. Before that, it was an organizing tropical depression. Its low- and mid-level centers were misaligned, which initially prevented strengthening.
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Harold is forecast to bring 3 to 6 inches of rain, especially near and north of its center. Tropical cyclones have highly “efficient” precipitation production. Because the system is so waterlogged, none of the rain evaporates on its way to the ground. Rainfall rates could top 2 inches per hour near the storm’s core.
A few tornadoes also are possible because of wind shear, a change of wind speed and/or direction with elevation. Onshore winds near the ground slow as they hit land and encounter friction, but upper-level winds continue charging onward. That creates a sort of tumbling of the winds. Clouds that span multiple layers of atmosphere can be affected by the energy of those changing winds and subsequently rotate. Multiple tornado warnings were issued near the coast after sunrise, with more occurring inland during midday.
Tropical Storm #Harold has formed in western Gulf - the 4th Atlantic named storm to form in just 39 hours (#Emily, #Franklin, #Gert). This is fastest time on record for 4 Atlantic named storm formations, breaking old record of 48 hours set in 1893 and equaled in 1980. pic.twitter.com/n3fnzwHvcO
— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) August 22, 2023Harold will continue to chug westward and into adjacent northern Mexico through the day. Conditions in South Texas will improve this evening.
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Tropical Storm Franklin
Tropical Storm #Franklin is looking spicy. Impressive deep convection with lots of lightning. This storm has a good shot to intensify into a Hurricane later this week over the western Atlantic pic.twitter.com/5gwBcym1ia
— Mike Ventrice 🚫 (@MJVentrice) August 21, 2023Tropical Storm Franklin remained poorly organized Tuesday morning, with 50 mph winds. It was 260 miles south of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
Share this articleShareTropical storm warnings cover the entire south coast of the Dominican Republic from the Haiti border east to Saona Island. They also stretch along the southern coast of Haiti from Anse-d’Hainault eastward.
Franklin was slowly drifting west at 3 mph, but it should begin meandering northward and should reach Hispaniola by Wednesday morning. Only minor strengthening is expected.
Puerto Rico will be sideswiped by the storm’s outer bands, resulting in a quick couple inches of rainfall. In Hispaniola, a general 5 to 10 inches are expected, with isolated 15-inch totals. The island’s mountainous terrain will help to focus the precipitation, possibly leading to mudslides that could severely affect some communities.
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By the weekend, Franklin should become a hurricane south of Bermuda.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic
Elsewhere, three other systems bear watching.
One is the remnants of Gert, a tropical depression east of the Leeward Islands. It is essentially a decayed tropical system that is quickly falling apart.
Another system several hundred miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands has a 50 percent chance of development. Another area to watch over the central Atlantic has only a 20 percent likelihood of becoming a tropical cyclone.
Livingston reported from Washington.
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