Tropical System Could Impact Texas Gulf Coast This Week

HOUSTON, TX — Texans living along the gulf coast don’t often take things lightly when they know a storm is coming, and that is the case this week as meteorologists keep careful watch of a tropical system predicted to develop off the Florida Panhandle.

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a system that is predicted to develop into a tropical depression or higher later this week, possibly impacting the upper gulf coast of southeast Texas near the Louisiana border by the weekend.

However, it’s still a toss-up of the impact this system could have on the Houston area, KPRC reported. Some models have the system moving inland east of Houston, into Louisiana and producing 1-2 inches of rain while other models predict a direct hit with 5-10 inches of rain, but weather experts expect to know more on Wednesday.

According to the National Weather Service, there is an 80 percent chance the system will develop off shore, and bring heavy rain and the possibility of flooding in some areas.

Update at 1 am EDT July 9 - Here are Key Messages for the system with a high chance of tropical cyclone formation in the northern Gulf of Mexico later this week. For more information see https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB and https://t.co/SiZo8ohZMN #AL92 pic.twitter.com/4RhSHOONer
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 9, 2019

If this system forms into a tropical storm, it would become "Barry," and would be the second named storm of the 2019 Hurricane season.

Hurricane season officially began on June 1, and some Texas residents were already prepared for the storm season with emergency supplies such as batteries and bottled water. Still, many stores in the Houston could run low on some supplies the closer it gets to the weekend.

Some items people can stock up now include:

• Batteries, single or multipack (AAA cell, AA cell, C cell, D cell, 6 volt or 9 volt)
• Can openers - nonelectric
• Carbon monoxide detectors
• Coolers and ice chests for food storage – nonelectric
• Fire extinguishers
• First aid kits
• Fuel containers
• Lanterns and flashlights
• Candles

RELATED: Texas Sales Tax Holiday For Emergency Supplies Is This Weekend

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