Gamma brings extreme rainfall to Mexico, Tropical Depression 26 forms

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Tropical Storm Gamma is the third storm this year to be given a name from the Greek alphabet as the above-average 2020 hurricane season continues.

As of 4:00 pm (CDT) on Sunday, Tropical Storm Gamma was stalled just north of the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula with maximum sustained winds near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts.

“On the forecast track, the center of Gamma will meander offshore of the northern Yucatan Peninsula and over the extreme southern Gulf of Mexico today, and pass near or just offshore of the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on Monday and Tuesday,” the NHC says.

Gradual weakening will begin Sunday night or Monday and will continue into Tuesday. Afterward, little change in strength is expected.

The storm is still packing a punch, however. Gamma is expected to produce an additional 75-150 mm of rainfall, with isolated maximum amounts of 200 mm across parts of the Mexican states of Yucatan, Campeche and Tabasco. This could enhance any ongoing flash flooding and trigger new areas of flash flooding into the middle of the week.

The NHC upgraded Invest 92L to Tropical Depression 26 on Sunday evening, which is forecast to track into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday night or early Wednesday. The system is forecast to be a tropical storm when it nears the Cayman Islands and will likely be a hurricane when it approaches western Cuba.

With these storms, the 2020 hurricane season creeps closer to uncharted territory. The current record for the most active season was set in 2005, which went as far as Zeta, named for the sixth letter in the Greek alphabet after the traditional name list was exhausted. That storm actually lingered a few days into January before finally dissipating.