An unnamed disturbance that the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) was tracking in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday has become Tropical Storm Harold, the NHC site shows.
As of 4 a.m. CDT, Tropical Storm Harold had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and west-northwest motion of 18 mph, according to the site.
“Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Harold is expected in South Texas through early Wednesday and may produce areas of urban and flash flooding,” said a statement posted on the NHC site at 4 a.m. CDT .
“In parts of northern Coahuila and northern Nuevo Leon in Mexico, flash floods and possible landslides are expected in mountainous terrain from Tuesday to Wednesday,” the statement added.
“Coastal flooding is possible along the south Texas coast today through Tuesday evening,” the statement continued.
Rigzone contacted the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) on Monday afternoon and asked the organization if it anticipated that oil and gas production in the US Gulf of Mexico should be close as a result of the disturbance. As of this writing, BSEE has not yet responded to Rigzone.
In addition to Tropical Storm Harold, the NHC is tracking four other disturbances in the Atlantic at the time of writing. These include Tropical Storm Franklin, Tropical Depression Gert, and two other unnamed disturbances.
According to the NHC site, Tropical Storm Franklin had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and a motion of three mph to the northwest as of 5 a.m. EDT, and Tropical Depression Gert had maximum sustained winds of 30 miles per hour and eight miles per hour. west-northwest movement time, starting at 5 am AST.
One of the unnamed disturbances is in the eastern tropical Atlantic and has a 30 percent chance of cyclone formation within 48 hours, starting at 2 a.m. EDT, the NHC site shows. The other is located in the central tropical Atlantic and has a zero percent chance of cyclone formation within 48 hours, as of 2 a.m. EDT, according to the site.
As of this writing, BSEE is not reporting any production disruptions related to the disturbances the NHC is currently tracking in the Atlantic.
In a statement posted on its website Monday, the American Red Cross noted that the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season “is heating up as the National Hurricane Center tracks at least five storm systems in the Atlantic Ocean”.
“One of these Tuesdays will make landfall in far south Texas. The American Red Cross is monitoring these storms to respond if necessary and urges people living in hurricane-prone areas to prepare now,” added the organization in the statement.
“In Texas, some areas could see up to seven inches of rain Tuesday and Wednesday, which could lead to flooding. A storm surge could also cause flooding and large waves near the coast,” the American Red Cross continued.
Atlantic weather systems have severely affected oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico in the past. For example, at its peak, Hurricane Ida shut down 95.65 percent of Gulf of Mexico oil production on Aug. 29, 2021, and 94.47 percent of Gulf of Mexico gas production on Aug. 31, 2021, BSEE figures show.
In October 2020, BSEE estimated at one point that approximately 84.8 percent of oil production and 57.6 percent of natural gas production in the US Gulf of Mexico had been closed as a result of the Zeta storm. Several other storms affected U.S. oil and gas production in 2020, including Hurricane Delta, Hurricane Sally, Hurricane Laura, and Tropical Storm Cristobal.
In a statement posted on its website earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revealed that scientists at its Climate Prediction Center had raised their forecast for the hurricane season from Atlantic 2023 from a near-normal level of activity to a higher level. – Normal level of activity.
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