The National Hurricane Center says the tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico is now Tropical Storm Barry, and it could become a hurricane before hitting Louisiana this weekend.
Barry was located 95 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to the advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center at 11 am Thursday. The warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico should encourage the system to intensify slowly at first, but a little more rapidly on Friday. Forecasters expect the depression to become a category 1 hurricane and track toward Louisiana late Friday night or Saturday morning. Based on the current forecast path, the most likely areas to receive significant storm surge and strong winds is over coastal Louisiana, where Storm Surge Warnings are posted.
There is a danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation along the coast of southern and southeastern Louisiana, where a Storm Surge Warning is now in effect https://t.co/TlYhzb6zDw #Barry @NHC_Surge pic.twitter.com/wpYiY66mcd
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 11, 2019
The effects over South Carolina from Barry are likely to be minimal based on the latest forecast track. If the storm takes a track along the eastern edge of the forecast cone, added moisture from the storm could increase shower chances over the Upstate early next week. However, the vast majority of the computer models keep the rain from Barry over Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Northwest Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky from Sunday through Tuesday as the storm tracks inland.
A weak front that is helping to turn Barry north is forecast to approach South Carolina on Friday and stall over the state this weekend. The front will be the primary culprit for scattered mainly afternoon thunderstorms. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center says the Pee Dee region and parts of the Midlands could see storms strong enough to produce isolated wind damage from a couple of the thunderstorms on Friday.