Tropical Storm Chris forms in the Gulf of Mexico

July 1 (UPI) – Tropical Storm Chris formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday evening. Meteorologists warned that the system threatened the North American state with heavy rains and flooding.

The storm was located about 105 miles southeast of Tuxpan, Mexico, in the Gulf, the National Hurricane Center said in its 10 p.m. CDT update.

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The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 mph and the wind speed was 13 mph to the west.

A tropical storm warning has been issued for the regions of Cabo Rojo to Puerto Veracruz. This means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the next six hours.

Chris is expected to move inland later Monday, but further strengthening is unlikely before then.

“Chis is expected to rapidly weaken after moving inland and dissipate over the mountainous terrain of Mexico,” the NHC center said in a discussion of the storm.

The biggest concern about the storm is the heavy rainfall. In parts of eastern Mexico, rainfall of between 10 and 20 centimeters is expected during the day. In the higher states of Guanajuato, Queretaro and San Louis Potosi, up to 30 centimeters is possible, it said.

Life-threatening flash floods and mudslides are expected in eastern Mexico until the early hours of Monday.

“This rainfall will cause flooding, and mudslides are possible in higher elevations,” the NHC warned.

Chris is the third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, following Beryl, which approached Barbados early Monday, and Alberto, which made landfall over Mexico on June 20 and battered Texas with heavy rains.