Hurricane Delta: Storm to regain strength, impacts ‘limited’ along Mississippi Gulf Coast
Update: National Hurricane Center issued more watches and warnings at 10 p.m. Wednesday. Find the latest here.
Hurricane Delta has weakened some, but is expected to restrengthen to a Category 4 storm as it enters the southern Gulf late Wednesday into Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm is also expected to “grow in size,” increasing chances for devastating storm surge and hurricane-force winds along portions of the northern Gulf Coast starting Friday.
“Storm surge and hurricane watches are in effect, and residents in these areas should follow advice given by local officials,” the NHC stated. (
(1/3) 4PM CDT Update on Hurricane #Delta. #Delta has weakened some due to recent land interactions. A steady strengthening trend is likely before more of a turn to the north is expected on Thursday. Impacts still remain likely across the N Gulf coast. Stay tuned. #lawx #mswx pic.twitter.com/UmcSZJrUaK
— NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) October 7, 2020
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves issued a State of Emergency ahead of the storm Wednesday afternoon.
“I have declared a State of Emergency for Hurricane Delta,” Reeves said in a statement. “Watch the weather reports and get prepared. We are tracking this closely and operators are getting ready for action. Prep for the worst. Pray for the best. God bless and stay safe.”
Hancock and Pearl River counties remain under a tropical storm watch, as well as counties in southwest Mississippi near McComb. The three coastal counties are also under a storm surge watch, and 4-6 feet of surge is possible.
“Also, prepare for locally hazardous surge having possible limited impacts across coastal and lakeshore areas near Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and from Ocean Springs to the Mississippi / Alabama border,” the National Weather Service said. “Elsewhere across Southeast Louisiana and South Mississippi, little to no impact is anticipated.”
Delta is moving on from the Yucatan Peninsula, traveling northwest at about 17 mph, weather maps show. Maximum sustained winds were measured near 85 mph as of Wednesday afternoon.
The system is on track to reach the Gulf Coast by late Friday, bringing the risk for heavy rain and high winds, weather officials said.
Among other concerns are “locally heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding, coastal flooding and even some isolated tornadoes,” Kevin Gilmore, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Baton Rouge, told McClatchy News. “All those threats will primarily last from Friday through early Saturday.”
(5/6): A few brief, weak tornadoes may be possible during the day on Friday across all of SE LA and S MS. Make sure you have a reliable source of weather information on Friday should warnings become necessary! #lawx #mswx pic.twitter.com/HUPjS52pof
— NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) October 7, 2020
The storm is expected to make landfall around the central Louisiana coastline late Friday before pulling northward across the lower Mississippi Valley, Gilmore said. Heavy showers will spread to the Tennessee Valley and southeastern U.S. this weekend into early next week, according to the NHC.
Parts of the Gulf Coast, particularly coastal Louisiana, could see 6-10 inches of rain as the system moves through, rainfall totals show.
The hurricane, which morphed into a powerful Category 4 storm in just 24 hours on Tuesday, lost some of its strength while over land. However, it’s set to make landfall at or near major hurricane status by Friday, according to Gilmore.
“The wind field, the size of the storm will spread out largely,” he said. “Impacts may be felt a lot larger than normal outside the center of the storm.”
