Barry makes landfall as tropical depression on Mexico’s east coast, heavy rain likely over the next couple days

Barry made landfall as a tropical depression on the east coast of Mexico on Sunday night and is expected to bring heavy rain to the area for the next couple of days.

As of the National Hurricane Center’s 10 p.m. update, Barry was located about 15 miles south-southeast of Tampico, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and was moving northwest at 9 mph.

The National Hurricane Center upgraded the tropical system, first forming as Tropical Depression 2, into a tropical storm at 11 a.m. Sunday Eastern Time.  After reaching tropical storm status, it became the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Andrea.

The NHC started issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 2 at 5 p.m. ET Saturday. As Air Force Reserve Reconnaissance aircraft continue to investigate the storm, they find tropical storm-force winds despite the storm nearing the coastline.

Satellite images show that the storm would weaken as it nears the coast. Even though the storm weakened as it approached land, it will still bring tropical storm conditions near the coast throughout Monday.

Barry was expected to strengthen slightly before it reached the coast of southeastern Mexico, before rapidly weakening as it moved inland. 

Forecasters, who issued a tropical storm warning, said the storm could dump three to six inches of rain with an isolated maximum total of 10 inches across Veracruz, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas through Monday.

As the storm makes landfall, it will bring heavy rain and the threat of flooding and mudslides inland of where the storm made landfall.

The final position estimate of Barry is Monday afternoon, with the storm is forecast to dissipate over Mexico well south of Brownsville, Texas. Even though the storm will have dissipated, it will continue to bring heavy rain to the area, leading to more flooding. 

More locally, the NHC is also monitoring the potential for a low-pressure system to develop in the Gulf off the coast of Central and North Florida next weekend.

Meanwhile, on Mexico’s southwestern coast, Tropical Storm Flossie formed on Sunday, located about 225 miles south of Acapulco and moving west at 9 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. According to forecasters, Flossie is expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Monday or Tuesday but remain in the open waters just west of Mexico.