Tropical Storm Eduoard tracks along the north gulf coast

Tropical Storm Eduoard formed today just south of Mobile, Alabama. Storm track predictions indicate that Eduoard will parallel the Louisiana gulf coast tonight and throughout the day Monday making land fall Monday night or Tuesday morning just west of Galveston.

The National Hurricane Center is anticipating the potential for Eduoard to strengthen to hurricane status before landfall and has stated that hurricane watches may be needed in southwestern Louisiana and southeast Texas tomorrow. Currently a Tropical Storm warning is in place from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Intracoastal City and a tropical storm watch westward to Port O'Connor, TX.

With the proximity to land, I suspect that development will be stifled somewhat, but the warm Gulf waters will certainly drive intensification. With low shearing winds, development to a low grade hurricane is possible although I think it may be unlikely.

The clockwise rotation around the high pressure system will drive Eduoard towards Texas and of course, the longer Eduoard is over water, the more likely such development is to occur.