Hurricane Delta track ticks farther west, but size could see ‘significant increase’
Editor’s note: Find the latest Wednesday updates here.
Hurricane Delta is on track to grow larger as well as stronger, so impacts are possible far from wherever it makes landfall on the northern Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm’s wind field is forecast to get much bigger once it moves into the Gulf of Mexico, “so regardless of Delta’s final landfall intensity, the projected large size of the hurricane is likely to result in a significant storm surge and wind event for portions of the northern Gulf coast later this week,” weather officials said.
The system is currently a Category 4 storm, packing maximum sustained winds near 145 mph as it takes aim at the Yucatan Peninsula. It continues to churn in the west-central Caribbean, traveling west-northwest at 17 mph, forecast maps show.
The chance of severe weather on the Gulf Coast will increase Thursday as Delta makes its way into the northern Gulf, forecasters say.
“Heavy rain, coastal flooding and damaging winds are will all be possible depending on the eventual track and intensity of this system,” according to an update from the National Weather Service New Orleans office. “Now is the time to make sure you have a plan in place and ready if you live anywhere along the northern Gulf Coast.
Delta is expected to weaken some as it moves over land, but forecasters said the warm waters of the Gulf are just right for the storm to re-strengthen and develop into “an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane.”
Tropical storm-force winds are likely to be felt in the region Thursday night, with the powerful system making potential landfall “between the Upper Texas coast to the central Gulf Coast” by late Friday, according to the NWS Weather Prediction Center. Deadly storm surge and “potentially catastrophic” wind damage are expected along coastal Louisiana and Mississippi.
The storm is also forecast to dump 4 to 8 inches of rain across the central Gulf Coast this weekend, with some areas possibly seeing up to 12 inches, the latest rainfall totals show.
In just one day, Delta grew from a tropical storm to a “major hurricane” producing life-threatening weather conditions. It strengthened by 90kt within 30 hours, becoming the “most rapidly strengthening tropical depression in Atlantic basin history,” according to meteorologist Eric Holthaus.
“[Hurricane] Wilma started stronger (as a strong tropical storm) and is the only tropical cyclone of any kind to strengthen more in 30 hours,” Holthaus tweeted Tuesday. “Delta’s record is arguably more impressive because it was much less well-defined and weaker to start with.”
Portions of the Tennessee Valley and southeastern U.S. also face the threat of heavy rain as the system moves inland later in the week, weather officials say.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 8:24 AM with the headline "Hurricane Delta track ticks farther west, but size could see ‘significant increase’."