Water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are running more than three degrees above average, increasing the prospects for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes this spring and potentially stronger hurricane activity in the summer and fall. The last time Gulf of Mexico waters were similarly warm in 2017, it coincided with an above-average tornado season through the spring, and then Category 4 Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas Gulf Coast at the end of summer.
The balmy gulf waters have already contributed to abnormal warmth across the Deep South, where virtually the entirety of the Interstate 10 corridor through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia is wrapping up one of its top five warmest Marches on record. Numerous records have toppled, with some cities soaring into the 90s. The heat was most prevalent in regions that bordered the gulf. According to the Southeast Regional Climate Center, cities such as Brownsville, Tex., Corpus Christi, Tex., Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Ala., and parts of Florida have all seen their warmest Marches on record.
[Temperatures hit 100 degrees in Oklahoma and Texas]
The Gulf of Mexico sea surface temperatures have run above normal over the past year, but they have sharply risen even higher in recent months.