While Hurricane Irma tracks towards Florida and Hurricane Jose’s path edges closer to the Caribbean, a new storm is brewing in the Gulf of Mexico today: Hurricane Katia.
According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Category 1 storm is expected to make landfall with Mexico’s east coast Friday night or Saturday morning, moving west towards Veracruz and later to Mexico City—and away from the Yucatan Peninsula.
Currently, Katia’s winds are as high as 75 miles per hour, but are forecasted to reach as high as 110 miles per hour as the storm intensifies. Category 5 Irma’s winds have reached 185 miles per hour, making it a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest storm on the Saffir–Simpson scale.
An overview of the active tropics: 24-hour animation of TS #Katia (left), Hurricane #Irma (center), and TS #Jose (right). #GOES16 pic.twitter.com/DiuhZP4f6y
— NASA SPoRT (@NASA_SPoRT) September 6, 2017
But Wind isn’t so much the worry with Katia—it’s the water that could be deadly. Total rainfall accumulations between five and 10 inches are forecast for northern Veracruz, with a possible 15-inch deluge causing flash-floods and mudslides, says NOAA.
Meanwhile, Category 1 storm Jose, which was upgraded from its tropical storm status today, has also seen top-speed winds of 75 miles per hour. But its path is not yet clear, says NOAA. The storm could yet turn northeast out into the Atlantic, or it could intensify as the week goes on.