Fernand Leaves at Least 13 Dead in Mexico

By Brian Edwards, Meteorologist

August 26,2013; 9:40PM,EDT

 

 

As Fernand pushes further inland over Mexico as a tropical rainstorm, it will bring both beneficial rain and the risk of flash flooding into Tuesday.
As of late Monday, at least 13 deaths were reported in the storm's aftermath, the Reuters website said. All of the deaths were the direct result of landslides in the eastern state of Veracruz.
Reported rainfall was upwards of 12 inches, Reuters said.
Fernand took shape in the Bay of Campeche over the weekend and made landfall Sunday night as a tropical storm.
The very warm waters of the Bay of Campeche, located in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, helped a tropical low organize and strengthen into the sixth tropical storm of the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season Sunday evening.
Fernand weakened late Monday afternoon as it moved over Mexico as it left the favorable environment of warm Gulf water.
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Torrential rain and the threat of landslides will accompany the dissipating storm over eastern Mexico. Between 4 and 8 inches (100-200 mm) of rain could still fall near the storm's center into Tuesday before the tropical rainstorm effectively dissipates.
As of late Monday, rainfall near 8 inches (200 mm) had already pelted Veracruz, weather information available to AccuWeather.com showed.
Dangerous flash flooding from the rain could lead to mudslides and washed-out roadways from Coatzacoalcos to Veracruz to Tampico through Monday night.
Locally flooding downpours are still possible on Tuesday, westward to the Sierra Madre Oriental, as the storm fully dissipates.

Winds capable of causing tree damage and power outages, as well as tossing about and damaging loose lawn items, will also be a concern in the vicinity of where the storm makes landfall.
AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologists Jim Andrews and Kristina Pydynowski, and Staff Writer Mark Leberfinger, contributed to the content of this story.