MEXICO CITY (AP) – Tropical Storm Cristobal formed in the southern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, bringing some flooding to Mexico’s southern Gulf coast and threatening more deadly inundations farther inland.
Cristobal was the earliest third named storm of an Atlantic hurricane season on record; in 2016, Tropical Storm Colin formed in the Gulf on June 5.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Cristobal was now expected to dip inland along the Mexican coast near the low-lying, flood-prone city of Ciudad del Carmen and meander there for a couple of days. That could pump a huge amount of water into coastal lagoons behind the city.
Police in Campeche state, where Ciudad del Carmen is located, said they have already closed several highways because of flooding.
By Friday, the storm is expected to make a northward turn and head towards the U.S. Gulf coast, where the Hurricane Center said “there is a risk of storm surge, rainfall, and wind impacts this weekend along portions of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Texas to the Florida Panhandle.”