Tropical Storm Lee Is a "Super Soaker"

Tropical Storm Lee.

Photo: NOAA

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Tropical Storm Lee is swirling in the Gulf of Mexico, on a path toward Louisiana, where it's expected to make landfall, with significant rain, by early Sunday morning, according to the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center. Already, it's whipping the Louisiana coast with heavy rains.

Lee is one of three active storm systems in the Atlantic that formed in the wake of Hurricane Irene. Hurricane Katia is far out in the Atlantic, and a low-pressure system off the coast of Nova Scotia has about a 40% chance of forming into a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.

But it's Tropical Storm Lee that the National Weather Service warns will be a "super soaker." Forecasts call for 10-15 inches of rain across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, with as much as 20 inches falling in some areas. In addition, the storm surge could raise sea levels between two and four feet, compounding the flooding risk.

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Here's a look at the expected path of Tropical Storm Lee:

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