Texas, Mexico Prepare for Possible Tropical Storm: Weather Watch

Parts of the Texas coast and northeastern Mexico are bracing for tropical storm conditions on Wednesday, as a potential system churns its way through the Bay of Campeche, the US National Hurricane Center said.

With winds of 40 miles per hour, the storm is already at tropical storm strength, however it currently lacks the organization to be named Alberto, the first name on this year’s Atlantic list, the center said. It will likely reach that threshold Wednesday and its winds will peak at 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) as it nears Mexico’s coastline, where watches are in place.

Related: Potent Hurricane Weather Pattern Continues to Take Shape, Forecaster Says

Tropical storm warnings have been posted for the Texas coast between Port O’Connor and the mouth of the Rio Grande, the center said. The storm will likely make landfall in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas early Thursday.

“It should be noted that regardless of the exact track of the low, we expect this system to have a large area of heavy rains, moderate coastal flooding and tropical-storm-strength winds well north of the center,” Richard Pasch, a senior hurricane specialist at the center, wrote in a forecast.

In other weather news:

US: Heat advisories stretch from Iowa to Maine as temperatures soar into the 90sF (32C) and even to 100F or more in some places. Schools are cutting class time short across Massachusetts, governments are warning residents to prepare and electricity demand is set to soar along with temperatures.

More than 120 daily high temperatures records may be tied or broken through Sunday, the US Weather Prediction Center said. Readings are forecast to reach 100F in Springfield, Massachusetts on Thursday and Philadelphia on Friday.

New York’s Manhattan is forecast to reach 93F on Thursday and Friday missing out on the most extreme temperatures, but the city will still likely rack up three consecutive days of 90-plus temperatures making this the season’s first heatwave.

California: Wildfire season is starting to get underway. The so-called Post Fire north of Los Angeles, one of 18 active blazes, has burned more than 15,600 acres and is 20% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Residents of a New Mexico town were ordered to evacuate on Monday due to a fast-moving wildfire.

Top photo: Waves crash onto the beach as Hurricane Laura approaches landfall in Texas, U.S.