Tropical Storm Cristobal formed Thursday afternoon in Bay of Campeche near the southern Gulf of Mexico.
The National Hurricane Center said Cristobal has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.
A tropical storm warning is now in effect along the coast of Mexico, and Cristobal is expected to bring heavy rain to southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
Tropical Depression #Cristobal Advisory 4A: Cristobal Moving Slowly Over the Bay Of Campeche. Threat of Heavy Rains Continues. https://t.co/VqHn0u1vgc
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) June 2, 2020
Cristobal is projected to spend most of this week trapped in the southern Gulf of Mexico, causing massive flooding and mudslides in Mexico and Central America, before eventually launching north as we get to the weekend.
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By Sunday computer, models have Cristobal about to make landfall in Texas or Louisiana as a tropical storm or maybe a hurricane. It's pretty far out and very unclear.
Here's the European model on Sunday:
Here's the American model on Sunday:
The NHC said Cristobal is forecast to begin moving northward across the Gulf of Mexico by this weekend, However, it's too soon to predict the timing and impacts along the U.S. Gulf coast.
So far, Florida is not on the receiving end of this, aside from possible abundant moisture being pulled out of the Caribbean and up into Florida .
That's not a direct impact, but any time a storm is in the Gulf of Mexico, it is worth paying careful attention to, especially because the future of this storm is so up in the air right now.