Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Storm Gordon starts kicking up waves on U.S. Gulf Coast

Published 09/04/2018, 12:16 PM
Updated 09/04/2018, 12:16 PM
© Reuters. Tropical Storm Gordon is pictured nearing Florida, U.S. in this NASA satellite handout photo

© Reuters. Tropical Storm Gordon is pictured nearing Florida, U.S. in this NASA satellite handout photo

(Reuters) - Waves began to batter parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday as the region felt the first effects of Tropical Storm Gordon, which is expected to become a hurricane before it comes ashore with high winds and heavy rain, forecasters said.

The storm also caused a jump in global oil prices after the evacuation of two oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Gordon was due to come ashore late on Tuesday near the border between Louisiana and Mississippi, and drop as much as 12 inches (30 cm) of rain in areas still recovering from last year's hurricanes, the National Hurricane Center said.

Currently carrying winds of around 65 miles per hour (105 km per hour), the storm was expected to pack hurricane-force winds - of at least 74 mph (119 kph) - when it reached the Gulf Coast, the center said.

Beaches around Mobile, Alabama, were seeing storm-driven waves on Tuesday morning, said Stephen Miller, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

"We're expecting an increase in winds," Miller said in a phone interview. "We could see flooding."

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency, as did New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Storm surge - sea levels driven higher - of as much as 5 feet (1.5 m) could hit a stretch of coast from Shell (LON:RDSa) Beach, Louisiana, to Dauphin Island, Alabama, forecasters said. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency told South Mississippi residents to be prepared to evacuate.

As of Tuesday morning, Gordon was located about 190 miles (305 km) east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and was heading west-northwest, the Miami-based hurricane center said.

U.S. oil producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp (NYSE:APC) evacuated workers and shut production at two offshore oil platforms on Monday, and other companies with production and refining operations along the Gulf Coast said they were securing facilities.

The Gulf of Mexico is home to 17 percent of U.S. crude oil and 5 percent of natural gas output daily, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The U.S. Coast Guard said the ports of New Orleans as well as Gulfport and Pascagoula, Mississippi, may have to close within 48 hours.

Last year, powerful hurricanes hit Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, causing thousands of deaths, hundreds of billions of dollars worth of damage and massive power outages.

Gordon, which was not forecast to be a major hurricane, was expected to weaken rapidly after moving ashore, the hurricane center said.

The Inn at Ocean Springs and The Roost Hotel in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, had guests planning to ride out the storm, said Kristin Smith, the general manager of both hotels.

© Reuters. Tropical Storm Gordon is pictured nearing Florida, U.S. in this NASA satellite handout photo

"A lot of guests are real comfortable sticking it out in our rooms," Smith said in a phone interview. "Any of our guests who feel like they want to go home we encourage them to follow their instincts."

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.