Gulf Coast residents rushed Monday afternoon to finish last-minute preparations as Hurricane Sally picked up steam as it slowly passed through the warm waters of the Gulf.
The storm became a Category 2 hurricane on Monday afternoon.
In the most recent part, forecasters forecast the system to make landfall along the Mississippi coastline between late Tuesday and early Wednesday morning.
"The bottom line remains that Sally is expected to be
a dangerous slow-moving hurricane
off the coast of southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama for the next 2-3 days," the National Hurricane Center (NHC, for) said Monday. its acronym in English).
Meteorologists said the biggest threat is flooding, which could reach up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) of rain in some areas.
The current hurricane warning
covers areas from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Navarre, Florida.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ordered the state's beaches closed Monday afternoon in preparation for the phenomenon.
"I urge everyone to tune in to your reliable weather source and turn to local officials for updates," Ivey said.
The NHC noted that it is too early to say exactly where Sally will make landfall, because it is not yet known when she would turn north.
[How and when to prepare for a hurricane or tropical storm]
At 4:00 pm ET, the phenomenon was located about 105 miles east of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Its
maximum sustained winds were 100 mph (161 kph)
and it was moving towards the coast at just 6 mph (9.6 kph).
The outer bands of the storm are already bringing rain over the Florida Panhandle.
For the second time in recorded history, five tropical cyclones are found in the Atlantic basin.
In addition to Sally, the meteorologists monitor Paulette, Rene, Teddy and Vicky, the most recent.
The last time this happened was in 1971.
Gulf Coast residents have been rushing to buy bottled water and other supplies ahead of the hurricane, whose sustained winds could reach 110 mph (177 kph) upon landfall, according to meteorologists.
“This is serious business and deserves your attention,” Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves wrote on Twitter shortly after the storm reached Category 2. Reeves urged people in low-lying areas to prepare to evacuate.
[The hurricane season was expected to be intense: it will be even worse]
"Be smart.
Prepare for the worst. Pray for the best to happen," he
said.
The turn that the cyclone has experienced bypasses the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, which now faces little chance of receiving the effects of its force, but puts the residents of Biloxi and Pascagoula, Mississippi, as well as on high alert. from Mobile, Alabama, who received orders to evacuate.
They say global warming is causing stronger hurricanes
Sept.
4, 201902: 52
Hurricane conditions are expected from late Monday in the area from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
In southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, flash floods are anticipated and will prevail through the middle of the week.
Other phenomena that are a potential threat
Sally is not the only storm in the Atlantic basin.
Paulette
made landfall in Bermuda early Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 95 mph (153 kph) and is forecast to continue battering that archipelago until late tonight, according to the NHC.
The hurricane has caused considerable damage and power outages.
After entering the Bermundas it intensified to a category 2 cyclone with maximum winds of 100 mph (155 km / h) and although it is expected that after leaving land it will head to the open sea, its windy gusts can cause storm surges on the east coast of the United States through Wednesday, the NHC predicts.
Map of Hurricane Paulette.NOAA
[Dos and don'ts during and after a hurricane]
Throughout the weekend and this Monday,
the
Rene, Teddy and Vicky
depressions
in the middle of the Atlantic
reached the category of tropical storm
,
which at the moment do not pose any threat to continental territory in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, reported the NHC.
A particularly busy hurricane season
The current hurricane season is being particularly busy, as is the catastrophic wildfire season on the West Coast.
THE severe weather situation has refocused attention on
the role of climate change.
["I don't think science knows": Trump travels to California and ignores the role of climate change in the fires that sweep the West Coast]
Scientists say that global warming is causing the strongest hurricanes, those with wind speeds of 110 mph or more, to become even stronger.
They say global warming is causing stronger hurricanes
Sept.
4, 201902: 52
Warmer air holds more moisture, which makes storms rainier.
Rising sea levels due to global warming make storm surge higher and more damaging.
With information from AP and the NHC