“Cristobal” strengthens tropical storm heading to the US.

"Cristobal" strengthens tropical storm heading to the US.

They warn that the phenomenon could cause rains from eastern Texas to Florida this weekend and early next week.

Cristóbal" is heading towards the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the United States, already strengthened by tropical storm, while causing rainfall in southern Mexico and Central America.

The storm has sustained maximum winds of 65 kilometers per hour and moves north at 19 km/h, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported. It is expected to cross the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday and eventually head towards the Gulf of Mexico coast in the United States.

Shortly after noon, its center was located 60 kilometers south-southeast of Merida and about 960 kilometers south of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Storm surveillance was broadcast on the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico from the intercoast of Louisiana City to the border between Alabama and Florida.

"Cristobal" landed Wednesday in Mexico as a tropical storm before weakening. It had formed this week in the Bay of Campeche with the remnants of tropical storm "Amanda", which had formed last week in the eastern Pacific and hit Central America.

Both storms have combined to cause up to 89 centimeters of precipitation in some areas over the past week. At least 30 deaths have been attributed to the two storms, and the floods and landslides they caused.

The trajectory forecast by the Hurricane Center shows that the storm will hit the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the United States on Monday morning, indicating that "Cristobal" could cause rains from eastern Texas to Florida this weekend and early next week.

In Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards declared Thursday a state of emergency in preparation for the possible arrival of the storm.

Now is the time to make their plans, which should include traditional emergency items along with masks and hand sanitizer, as we continue to fight with the coronavirus pandemic," Edwards said in a statement.