Related videos:
The Cuban Institute of Meteorology (INSMET) issued the Tropical Cyclone Warning No. 2 on Wednesday at 6:00 PM regarding Tropical Storm Arthur, the first named system of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season.
According to the notice, Arthur has slightly intensified over the past few hours, with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour, higher gusts, and a minimum pressure of 1001 hectoPascals.
At the time of the report, the center of the system was located 35 kilometers west-southwest of Matagorda, Texas, at coordinates 28.9 degrees North and 96.1 degrees West, moving northeast at about 11 kilometers per hour.
INSMET forecasts that Arthur will maintain this course over the next few hours as it moves along the Texas coast, before moving inland near Louisiana and dissipating.
The Cuban agency stated that this is the final notice it will issue regarding Arthur, indicating that the system does not pose a direct threat to Cuba.
The meteorologist José Rubiera explained that flooding is the main threat of the system: "Rain is the important factor. Local flooding is the most dangerous aspect in terms of the impacts of this system."
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the United States projected rainfall accumulations of between 127 and 254 millimeters, with isolated totals exceeding 500 millimeters in some areas, prompting flash flood warnings for the Houston metropolitan area and alerts in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and the Panhandle of Florida.
The NHC also warned of storm surges ranging from two to four feet from Port Bolivar, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana, and the potential formation of isolated tornadoes along the Gulf Coast.
Arthur originated as a low-pressure system that moved inland and quickly organized upon encountering waters of the Gulf of Mexico between 30 and 32 degrees Celsius. Rubiera noted that these sea temperatures caused "the convection to explode."
For Cuba, INSMET did not issue any danger alerts. Rubiera forecasted only "some showers, some rain, perhaps an electrical storm in the central and eastern parts" of the island during the afternoon.
Arthur was officially named by the NHC this Wednesday, becoming the first storm of the 2026 hurricane season, which began on June 1.
INSMET had forecasted a 40% probability that at least one hurricane would affect Cuba and a 75% probability that at least one tropical storm would impact the island, in the context of a season predicted to be less active than usual due to the influence of the El Niño phenomenon.
Rubiera left open the possibility that Arthur could regain strength once it crosses into the Atlantic: "When it reaches the Atlantic, it could be a different story because it will encounter the Gulf Stream, warm water also along the eastern coast of the United States, and it could develop once it's in the Atlantic."
Filed under: