Tropical Storm Arthur may have weakened overnight, but its remnants are driving one of the most dangerous weather situations on the Gulf Coast in years Thursday, with Tornado Watch 351 active through 5 PM CDT across Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and southeastern Louisiana — on top of a rare Level 4 “High Risk” flash flood warning.
Tornado Watch 351: Five States and Gulf Waters
The NOAA Storm Prediction Center issued Tornado Watch 351 through 5 PM CDT Thursday covering a broad arc of the northern Gulf Coast:
Mississippi: Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jones, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River, Perry, Stone and Wayne counties — including Hattiesburg, Gulfport, Biloxi, Pascagoula, Laurel and the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Alabama: Baldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dallas, Escambia, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Perry, Sumter, Washington and Wilcox counties — including Mobile and the entire southwest Alabama corridor.
Florida Panhandle: Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties — including Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach and the Emerald Coast.
Louisiana: St. Tammany and Washington parishes — including Covington, Bogalusa and Mandeville, just north of New Orleans.
The watch also extends to Gulf coastal waters from Pascagoula to Pensacola, including Mississippi Sound, Chandeleur Sound, Perdido Bay and Pensacola Bay. Several tornado warnings were already posted early Thursday morning for southern Louisiana, according to PBS NewsHour.
Arthur Has Already Killed — and Is Still Flooding
The storm’s toll has already begun. A 15-year-old drowned in a flooded pond in Montgomery County, Texas, according to Fox Weather. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses are without power across the Gulf States. Parts of eastern Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi have picked up more than a month’s worth of rain in just three days, with rainfall rates of 3 inches per hour Thursday morning in some areas.
NHC Director Michael Brennan warned that the primary danger from Arthur would be “dangerous to life-threatening flash flooding” — language that applies directly to Thursday’s situation as the post-tropical system continues pulling Gulf moisture inland.
A Rare Level 4 High Risk for Flash Flooding
The flash flood threat escalated to a rare Level 4 out of 4 High Risk for the Mississippi and Alabama coasts early Thursday morning, according to Fox Weather — a designation that indicates an “extreme risk to lives and property.” Level 4 High Risk is issued fewer than a dozen times per year nationally. Flood watches for the system’s heavy rain have been issued for more than 17 million people along the northern Gulf Coast, per CNN.
AccuWeather meteorologists warn Friday brings another dangerous round — when a cold front interacting with Arthur’s moisture could produce additional life-threatening flooding across southern Alabama, southern Mississippi and the western Florida Panhandle.
What People in the Watch Zone Must Do
If you are in the Tornado Watch zone: identify your tornado shelter now — a basement, storm cellar or interior room on the lowest floor. Tornado warnings from Arthur’s rain bands can be issued with very little lead time. Have a weather alert device active through 5 PM CDT.
On flooding: turn around, don’t drown at every flooded road. Do not drive around barricades. Move valuables and vehicles out of flood-prone areas. Monitor the NWS Mobile office and NWS Jackson office for continuous updates through Friday.
