New Orleans area pounded by storms as northern Gulf Coast braces for hurricane-force wind gusts, hail
NEW ORLEANS – The FOX Forecast Center is continuing to track a line of powerful thunderstorms sweeping across the Deep South and Gulf Coast one day after storms left trails of damage from Texas to Kentucky.
Severe weather has been pounding the northern Gulf Coast on Monday, putting millions of people in cities such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana, Mobile in Alabama and Tallahassee in Florida on alert for strong to severe thunderstorms that could spawn hail, damaging wind gusts and even some tornadoes.
In addition, storms that bubble up over the Gulf could produce waterspouts as they approach the shoreline.
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Storms moved across portions of Texas before sweeping off to the east Monday morning, with emergency management officials in Galveston County reporting damage to a home in the community of San Leon.
Storms then raced across Louisiana, with a video shared from Livingston showing vivid lightning, heavy rain and strong winds blasting through the area.
Another video captured lightning illuminating the sky over Baton Rogue, where a 78-mph wind gust, which is as strong as a Category 1 hurricane, was reported at Baton Rogue Airport.
Numerous Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued Monday morning, and additional alerts were expected to be issued as storms charged east through the late-morning and afternoon hours.
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Because of the threat on Monday, the National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for nearly 3 million people in portions of Louisiana and Mississippi. The watch included cities like Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Houma in Louisiana, as well as Gulfport in Mississippi.
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Thunderstorms are possible from Texas to North Carolina on Monday. However, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center placed more than 2 million people in a Level 2 out of 5 threat on Monday. This includes cities such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana, and Gulfport in Mississippi.
