Friday, July 29, 2011

Outer Rain Bands of Don Nearing the Coast...



At 10am CDT, the center of Tropical Storm Don was located about 190 miles Southeast of Corpus Christi, TX. Don was moving West/Northwest at 14 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.  The minimum central pressure is 29.59 inches of mercury.


A recent image from the radar in Corpus Christi (below) shows scattered showers and thunderstorms associated with the outer bands of Don are approaching the Texas coast at this hour:



Shower and thunderstorm activity will be on the increase across the coastal bend throughout the midday and afternoon hours today.  Some will produce locally heavy downpours.  Tropical storm force winds extend outward about 105 miles from the center of Don.  With the present movement in mind, tropical storm force winds can be expected along the coast within the Tropical Storm Warning area (blue shaded area on the image below) later this evening:


As mentioned in a post yesterday evening, Don took an abrupt turn toward the West between 4 and 7pm yesterday, which has resulted in a track further to the South as compared to forecasts that had been issued earlier this week.  The center of Don is currently forecast (see map above) to make landfall along the Texas coast to the South of Corpus Christi just before Midnight tonight.

This further Southward track will unfortunately result in less rainfall potential for the Austin-San Antonio corridor tonight and Saturday.  However, much needed rain will fall further South across southcentral Texas, as shown by the latest rainfall forecast image below:


Residents along the Coast, particularly from the Corpus Christi area Southward, should finish preparations for Tropical Storm Don this morning.  Some further strengthening is likely before landfall, however it does not currently appear as though Don will reach hurricane strength.


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