TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Two named storms are churning in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico as we head into the weekend: Tropical Storm Gonzalo in the Atlantic and Tropical Storm Hanna in the Gulf.
Tropical Storm Hanna
A depression in the Gulf of Mexico strengthened to Tropical Storm Hanna overnight as it moved toward the Texas coastline. It poses no threat to Tampa Bay.
“Now that Tropical Storm Hanna has made it into the western Gulf of Mexico, it should have no more impacts on the Tampa Bay area. Our humidity and afternoon rain chances are down slightly as the tropical air is no longer in place,” Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Leigh Spann said.
As of 1 p.m. Friday, Hanna is about 230 miles east of Corpus Christi, Texas with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. It’s moving west-northwest at 9 mph.
Hanna is expected to make landfall Saturday and bring heavy rain and strong winds to portions of Texas, along with coastal swells that “are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the advisory stated.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from the mouth of the Rio Grande to San Luis Pass, Texas, and a Tropical Storm Watch is in effect from San Luis Pass to High Island, Texas.
According to Colorado State University researcher Phil Klotzbach, Hanna broke the record as the earliest eighth Atlantic named storm.
Tropical Storm Gonzalo
The NHC is also monitoring Tropical Storm Gonzalo, which weakened Thursday but could still become the first hurricane of the 2020 season.
As of 2 p.m., Gonzalo is located about 445 miles east of the southern Windward Islands. It’s moving west at 18 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
A Hurricane Watch has been issued for Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for several places, including St. Lucia, Tobago and Grenada.
Gonzalo could bring 2 to 5 inches of rain, according to forecasters.
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