Tropical Storm Karen Losing Punch In Gulf
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The latest advisory has Tropical Storm Karen, the 11th name storm of the 2013 hurricane season, lost some strength Friday night.
Tropical Storm Karen is expected to be the second named storm to hit the U.S. during what has been a relatively quiet hurricane season. Tropical Storm Andrea impacted the U.S. in June.
Karen is heading for the Central Gulf Coast and is forecast to make landfall over the weekend.
At 10:00 p.m., the system was about 205 miles south southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Karen has maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour and the advisory had Karen moving north- northwest at 7 mph.
The National Hurricane Center has issued the following watches and warnings for Karen:
- Tropical Storm Warning – from Morgan City, Louisiana to the mouth of the Pearl River
- A Tropical Storm Watch – Metropolitan New Orleans, Lake Muarepas, Lake Pontchartrainm, East of the mouth of the Pearl River to Indian Pass, Florida
The National Hurricane Center forecasts the storm to gradually turn towards the north and slow down its forward speed by early Saturday. A turn toward the northeast and an increase in forward speed is expected Sunday.
The NHC said little change in strength is forecast for the next 48 hours, but a little strengthening is possible Saturday night into Sunday.
The center of Karen is expected to be near the coast within the tropical storm warning area Saturday night.
