Tropical Storm Nate: Will It Hit Nashville, Fall Break Hot Spots?

NASHVILLE, TN — Tropical Storm Nate is churning in the Gulf of Mexico just off the coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras and appears to have its sights set on the U.S. Gulf Coast, particularly the stretch between Mississippi and the Florida panhandle — a top destination during fall break, which begins this weekend for many districts throughout Middle Tennessee.

The track issued by the National Hurricane Center Friday morning has Nate making landfall as a hurricane near the Mississippi River delta early Sunday then trekking inland and turning sharply northeast.

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Nate is a relatively small but fast-moving storm and National Weather Service and NHC forecasters expect it to push into East Tennessee by Sunday night.

For the Gulf Coast, the NHC issued a hurricane watch from Morgan City, Louisiana, to the Alabama-Mississippi border and for New Orleans. A tropical storm watch is in effect from the Alabama-Mississippi line to the Okaloosa-Walton county line in Florida, encompassing Ft. Walton Beach and Destin. Travelers with plans to head to the beach are advised to keep an eye on forecasts.

For Middle Tennessee, even if the center of the storm tracks east, rain is likely throughout the weekend.

"This would keep Middle Tennessee on the west side of the track, with considerable rainfall amounts, particularly Sunday and Sunday night and into Monday before rainfall rates start to taper off," the NWS Nashville office said in its Friday morning forecasters' discussion.

Generally, the computer models are suggesting 3 to 4 inches of rain for most of Middle Tennessee from Saturday through Tuesday, with locally higher amounts.

Stay with Patch for updates on the weather situation.

Image via National Hurricane Center