The first storm of what is expected to be an active hurricane season has reached land, as Tropical Storm Arlene slammed into Cabo Rojo, Mexico, around 60 miles (100 km) south of Tampico.
“Rainfall accumulations of 4 to 8 inches are expected over the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and eastern San Luis Potosi,” Oakland, Calif.-based catastrophe modeling EQECAT INC. stated in a release. “Isolated rainfall amounts of up to 15 inches are possible over mountainous terrain, with the potential for life-threatening flash floods and mudslides. A storm surge may raise water levels by 2 to 4 feet above the normal tide along the immediate coast near and to the north of where the center makes landfall.”
Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions, Inc. notes that the outer bands of the system are expected to affect the US, with rainfall forecast for the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Indeed, the U.S. National Weather Service in Brownsville, Texas, has issued a coastal flooding advisory, a high surf advisory and a rip current alert for the lower Texas coast, which are expected to remain in place through Friday, July 1.
"Arlene strengthened before landfall to a moderate tropical storm. It is likely that had it remained over water it would have become the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season," said Margaret Joseph, catastrophe response analyst at RMS.
