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9/1/11 (AEIN) The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning for the Gulf Coast late Thursday, stretching from Sabine Pass, Texas to Pascagoula, Mississippi. Southern parts of at least three states could receive over nine inches of rainfall this weekend.
A special advisory from the National Hurricane Center indicated that the tropical depression was centered approximately 225 miles southwest of the entrance to the Mississippi River on Thursday night. The top sustained wind speeds had reached 35 miles per hour.
Forecasters warn that the storm will reach Louisiana's coast by Saturday and produce heavy rainfall through the following day. Ten to fifteen inches of rain may fall in southern areas of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, with twenty inches possible in a few places.
The tropical depression could also trigger a storm surge of one to three feet along the Gulf Coast. It will be named if it reaches tropical storm wind speeds. Sabine Pass is located in far eastern Texas, while Pascagoula is in the southeastern part of Mississippi.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Katia weakened to a tropical storm late Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean. However, forecasters predicted that it would gain strength again on Friday and Saturday.