Miami, Florida—(ENEWSPF)—September 3, 2011 – UPDATE 4 PM CST. The National Hurricane Center reports that Tropical Storm Lee is lumbering northward toward southern Louisiana. A Tropical Storm Warning has been extended eastward.
Watches and Warnings
Changes With This Advisory
The Tropical Storm Watch has been replaced with a Tropical Storm Warning from the Alabama/Florida border eastward to Destin, Florida.
Summary of Watches and Warnings in Effect
A Tropical Storm Warning is in Effect for:
- Destin, Florida westward to Sabine Pass, Texas, including the city of New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain, and Lake Maurepas
For storm information specific to your area, including possible inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your Local National Weather Service Forecast Office.
Discussion and 48-Hour Outlook
At 4 PM CDT (2100 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Lee was located by satellite and oil platform observations near latitude 29.4 north, longitude 92.1 west. Lee is drifting erratically toward the north near 4 mph (6 km/h). A slow and possibly erratic motion toward the north or north-northwest is expected during the next 24 hours, followed by a turn toward the northeast. On the forecast track, the center of Lee is expected to cross the Louisiana coast later this afternoon or evening, then move slowly across southern Louisiana on Sunday.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts. Some fluctuations in strength are possible this afternoon and tonight, with gradual weakening forecast to occur by Sunday afternoon.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles (370 km) from the center. An offshore oil rig south of Sabine Pass recently reported a sustained wind of 50 mph (81 km/h) and a gust to 60 mph (90 km/h) at an elevation of 230 feet above the surface.
Reports from offshore oil rigs and Louisiana State University Coastal Observing Sites indicate the minimum central pressure is 989 mb (29.21 inches).
Hazards Affecting Land
Tropical Storm Lee is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 10 to 15 inches from the central Gulf Coast northward into the Tennessee Valley, with possible isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches through Sunday. These rains are expected to cause extensive flooding and flash flooding.
A storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 3 to 5 feet above ground level along the Louisiana Coast. and by as much as 1 to 3 feet above ground level along the Mississippi and Alabama Coasts including Mobile Bay. See products issued by Local National Weather Service Forecast Offices for more details.
Tropical Storm conditions are expected to continue over portions of the warning area tonight into Sunday, and possibly into Monday.
A few tornadoes will be possible through tonight over portions of southern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and the far western Florida Panhandle.
Surface Wind Field
Click image to zoom in ![[Image of initial wind radii]](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT13/refresh/AL1311R_sm2+gif/204714R_sm.gif)
About this product:
This graphic shows the areas potentially being affected by the sustained winds of tropical storm force (in orange) and hurricane force (in red). The display is based on the wind radii contained in the latest Forecast/Advisory (indicated at the top of the figure). Users are reminded that the Forecast/Advisory wind radii represent the maximum possible extent of a given wind speed within particular quadrants around the tropical cyclone. As a result, not all locations falling within the orange or red shaded areas will be experiencing sustained tropical storm or hurricane force winds, respectively.
In addition to the wind field, this graphic shows an approximate representation of coastal areas under a hurricane warning (red), hurricane watch (pink), tropical storm warning (blue) and tropical storm watch (yellow). The white dot indicates the current position of the center of the tropical cyclone, and the dashed line shows the history of the center of the tropical cyclone.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov
