There’s a new tropical storm, it’s in the Gulf of Mexico, and it will make landfall later today.

The National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Harold formed early Tuesday morning while in the central Gulf. Tropical storm winds and heavy were already beginning to spread over the Texas coast early Tuesday, forecasters said.

Harold is the eighth named storm so far in 2023 in the Atlantic, and the first in the Gulf since Tropical Storm Arlene in early June.

Harold is on a path for the Texas coast and is forecast to make landfall by midday today, according to the hurricane center.

Alabama won’t be directly affected by Harold — except for one big thing: Harold will help raise the risk of deadly rip currents to high through Tuesday night along Alabama and northwest Florida beaches.

As of 4 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Tropical Storm Harold was located about 155 east-southeast of Port Mansfield, Texas, and was tracking to the west-northwest at 18 mph.

Harold had sustained winds of 45 mph, making it a minimal tropical storm.

Tropical storm warnings continued along the Texas coast from the mouth of Rio Grande to Port O’Connor, Texas. A tropical storm watch continued for Texas from Port O’Connor to Sargent.

The hurricane center said that Harold could strengthen a little more before it moves inland over Texas later today.

Harold will be a big rainmaker above all else. The hurricane center said 3 to 5 inches of rain, with isolated higher amounts of 7 inches, will be possible across South Texas through early Wednesday.

Parts of Mexico could get even more rain, 4 to 6 inches, forecasters said.

There could also be a 1- to 3-foot storm surge along the coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande River to Sargent, Texas, including Baffin Bay, Corpus Christi Bay and Matagorda Bay.

The National Weather Service will also be on the lookout for a few tornadoes in South Texas as Harold’s rain bands move onshore.

TROPICAL STORM FRANKLIN

Harold is only one storm in a busy tropical Atlantic. The hurricane center was also tracking Tropical Storm Franklin, Tropical Depression Gert, the remnants of Tropical Storm Emily and another tropical wave in the eastern Atlantic.

None of those was a threat to the continental U.S.

Tropical Storm Franklin was the only storm that was of immediate concern to any land area.

Franklin was poorly organized on Tuesday morning but is expected to move northward across Hispaniola today, and tropical storm warnings remained in effect there.

Franklin could strengthen into a hurricane late this week as it moves out to sea and away from the U.S.

As of 4 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Tropical Storm Franklin was located about 255 miles south of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and was tracking to the northwest at 3 mph.

Franklin could reach the southern coast of Hispaniola on Wednesday and move across the island from south to north.

Franklin had winds of 50 mph. The hurricane center said some strengthening is forecast before Franklin reaches

Hispaniola tomorrow but it is not expected to become a hurricane.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the entire southern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

A tropical storm watch continued for the northern coast of the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

OTHER AREAS TO WATCH

The hurricane center was also tracking Tropical Depression Gert east of the Leeward Islands. Forecasters said Gert could dissipate at any time, and there were no watches or warnings in effect for it.

There were two other waves being watched for development. One was what was left of Tropical Storm Emily. It was in the central Atlantic and had a low chance of redevelopment. It wasn’t expected to affect any land areas.

And finally the hurricane center was tracking a tropical wave in the eastern Atlantic a few hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands. It has the potential to become a tropical depression later this week, when it could be in the central Atlantic. It was no immediate threat to the U.S.

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and and ends on Nov. 30. The climatological peak of the season is coming up on Sept. 10.