The Texarkana area could be hit as early as Sunday by a tropical storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico.
A tropical storm in the gulf is expected to make landfall as a potential hurricane on Saturday evening near Lake Charles, La., according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm is expected to travel north and be in the area by the beginning of the week and last through Monday morning.
The storm, which is predicted to strengthen into Hurricane Barry, is moving 8 mph and has a maximum sustained wind of 30 mph. It is expected to become stronger in the coming days.
The system could bring a threat of significant rainfall flooding, storm surge flooding and high winds to East Texas before moving north. Typically, these types of tropical cyclones produce their heaviest rain along and to the east of their tracks. This suggests heavy rain is possible from parts of East Texas into Louisiana and Mississippi.
Winds in Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas could be between 30 mph and 40 mph, according to the Hurricane Center. Winds from the storm could start as early as Saturday and reach maximum on Monday.
The storm, which is predicted to strengthen into Hurricane Barry, is moving 8 mph and has a maximum sustained wind of 30 mph. It is expected to become stronger in the coming days.
How much rain falls depends on how fast Barry moves and its exact track, rather than its intensity.
As of late Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Shreveport was predicting a sixty percent chance of rain for Texarkana on Sunday and a 70 percent chance on Monday.