Tropical Storm Alberto Is Forming Soon – How Will Louisiana Be Impacted?

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPEL News) - A tropical system in the southern Gulf of Mexico has been upgraded to Potential Tropical Cyclone One, and is likely to become Tropical Storm Alberto soon.

The system, which is currently almost stationary in the Gulf, is expected to gather enough strength to become a Tropical Storm before turning westward into Mexico.

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But just because it will hit Mexico doesn't mean Texas and Louisiana won't be impacted. A combination of weather factors will still make life difficult for some areas of the southwestern Gulf Coast.

Texas will face the worst of it, with a lot of rainfall and flash flooding possible. Some reports earlier this week suggested up to a foot of rainfall could be expected in some parts of Texas.

READ MORE: Southeast Texas Could See a Foot of Rain Over the Next 7 Days

The National Hurricane Center has already called for a Tropical Storm Warning that will definitely impact Mexico and part of Texas.

"A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours," the NHC said in its most recent update. "For storm information specific to your area in the United States, including possible inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast
office. For storm information specific to your area outside of the United States, please monitor products issued by your national meteorological service."

The Tropical Storm is expected to develop around noon before it starts its westward turn into Mexico.

But while we know several areas in Texas will be deeply impacted by the storm, some parts of the Louisiana coast will also face some heavy rain and flash flooding across our own coastline.

Lake Charles and the southwest corner of the state appear set to get the worst of it over the next few days - particularly Wednesday and Thursday. But all across the southern part of the state, frequent and, at times, heavy rains will have an impact.

Over the course of this week, south Louisiana will be getting a fair amount of rain. As usual, be careful while driving and look out for flooded areas that could cause problems during your commute.