Potential Tropical Cyclone One Forms in Western Gulf, Watch Issued for Texas-Louisiana Coast

The National Hurricane Center issued a preliminary weather advisory Tuesday morning for Potential Tropical Cyclone One, the potential first tropical cyclone of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. The system was located early Tuesday in the western Gulf between Corpus Christi, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana, and was moving northeastward with sustained winds of 30 mph.

Those winds remain below the 39-mph threshold required for tropical-storm designation, and the disturbance still lacked a well-defined center.

Forecasters said the system is expected to intensify and produce tropical-storm-force winds on Wednesday. A tropical storm watch was issued Tuesday for the northwestern Gulf Coast from Sargent, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana. The watch indicates tropical-storm conditions could develop within the next 24 to 36 hours.

The National Hurricane Center said dangerous rainfall and flash flooding are the primary threats. Significant river flooding is possible, and in some areas prolonged rainfall could extend the flood threat into the weekend. The agency warned the system could bring serious hazards to coastal northeastern Texas, southwestern Louisiana, parts of Alabama and Mississippi, and far-western portions of the Florida Panhandle.

National Weather Service offices in Austin, San Antonio and Shreveport, Louisiana, each recorded record rainfall on Monday. San Antonio and Shreveport received more rain in a single day than either city had seen since the late 19th century, while Austin broke a daily record set in 1964.

Communities across parts of the South are bracing for up to 7 or 8 inches of additional rain through the rest of the week.