Barry Makes Landfall As Tropical Depression Over Eastern Mexico

While Barry made landfall as a tropical depression on the east coast of Mexico Sunday evening, heavy rains will likely continue over portions of eastern Mexico for the next couple of days.

As of 10 p.m. CDT, Tropical Depression Barry was located near 22.0 N and 97.8 W, or 15 miles south-southeast of Tampico, Mexico. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to 35 mph as it moves to the northwest at 9 mph. Its minimum pressure is 1007 mb, or 29.74 mb.

Barry will continue to move inland over eastern Mexico and will quickly dissipate over the rugged terrain of eastern Mexico today.

The greatest concern from this system will be heavy rainfall. Totals of 3 to 6 inches are expected across the Mexican states of Veracruz, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas through today. There could also be isolated rainfall totals up to 10 inches. This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain.

The strongest winds are expected to occur to the north of the center along the coast early today.

Although the U.S. is not at risk from this tropical system, its development serves as a beacon that it is time to prepare for the hurricane season. Create a hurricane evacuation box now, before the storm, with bottled water, extra cell phone chargers, food and clothing. Scope out multiple different evacuation routes, in case your preferred route is blocked or traffic jammed.
 
The Atlantic hurricane season, which officially started on June 1, has been slowly ramping up, as last week saw the short-lived Tropical Storm Andrea in the central Atlantic. This is about in line with climatology, as June typically has only a couple of named storms.