Hurricane Ingrid is poised to deliver a major soaking to parts of Texas, but its most life-threatening impacts will be reserved for Mexico where extreme rainfall will fall on already water-logged areas.
Ingrid strengthened to hurricane status on Saturday afternoon, becoming the second hurricane of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season.
Tropical Storm Ingrid Projected Path
Rain Forecast
Ingrid has finally begun to drift northwest and will move west later this weekend, targeting a landfall along the eastern Mexican Gulf Coast on Monday.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the area between Cabo Rojo to La Pesca, including the city of Tampico. Hurricane-force winds are possible later Sunday in the watch area. Tropical storm warnings extend south of Cabo Rojo, including the city of Veracruz.
While strong winds, higher surf, and rip currents are possible along parts of the Mexican and South Texas Gulf coast, the most worrisome impact will be heavy rainfall.
A wide swath of eastern Mexico near and inland of the Gulf Coast has the potential to pick up over 10 inches of rainfall, with localized amounts up to 25 inches through the upcoming week. This torrential rainfall will produce life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides in these areas, particularly in areas of higher terrain.
Unfortunately, these same areas have been drenched by Tropical Storm Fernand, Tropical Depression Eight, and ordinary thunderstorms since then, so the stage is set for a potentially catastrophic flood event if Ingrid brings the amount of rain currently forecast to fall on eastern Mexico.
Bands of locally heavy rain may rotate northward as far as the southern Texas coast, as well. While much of Deep South Texas remains in extreme or exceptional drought, heavy rainfall on the order of one inch or more per hour may run off quickly, leading to flash flooding. Increased surf, rip currents and some coastal flooding will also be an issue along the south Texas coast. People located in south Texas, including Brownsville and Corpus Christi, should monitor the progress of this storm.
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