Arthur will bring potentially life-threatening flooding from Louisiana to Georgia through Thursday or Friday, even when the tropical storm falls apart.

(TRACKING MAPS: Spaghetti models, forecast winds, satellite and more)

Current Tropical Alerts

The National Hurricane Center has issued tropical storm warnings from Sargent, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana. This means that winds of 39 mph or higher are expected through tonight.

The latest on Arthur

Arthur is centered near the Texas coast, but it doesn't really look much like a tropical storm in satellite imagery.

That's because strong west winds aloft are blowing almost all of the thunderstorms away from Arthur, what meteorologists call wind shear.

Arthur is expected to weaken in the next day or so as it moves through Texas, Louisiana and the rest of the South. There is a small chance of regeneration once the system gets to the Atlantic this weekend.

In the meantime, regardless of the system's status, rain will be a major issue for the South.

Arthur formed Wednesday morning and is the first of the season in the Atlantic. The "A" storm typically forms on June 20, so we're pretty much on schedule this year.

(MORE: Atlantic hurricane season outlook update)

Where the soaking rain is now

The map below shows where heavy rain is falling right now.

Bands of heavy rain are lurking off the coast of Louisiana and will likely pivot onshore this evening. This is where the gustiest winds are located.

Early Wednesday morning, just over 8.5 inches of rain fell in Freeport, about 50 miles south of downtown Houston, where at least one vehicle was flooded.

Two to three-inch rain totals were also reported on the south and east sides of the Houston metro from Baytown to Seabrook and League City.

Flood watches have been issued by the National Weather Service in areas shown by the light green shaded areas from coastal Texas as far east as parts of Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, including Houston, New Orleans, Jackson, Birmingham and Atlanta.

How much more rain will fall?

While the storm will be no more by Thursday, locally heavy rain is forecast for the Deep South through at least Friday.

Through Friday night, the system is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5-10 inches from the upper Texas coast into Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, western Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. Isolated totals of up to 20 inches are possible.

This could lead to dangerous flash flooding and some minor to moderate river flooding, increasing as the week goes on.

Stay alert for any flash flood warnings and never drive into a flooded stretch of road. Turn around, instead.

(MORE: Why you should never drive into a flooded road)

Other Impacts

Some gusty winds up to 50 mph are possible along the upper Texas Coast and southwest Louisiana tonight.

A storm surge of 1-3 feet is also possible between Matagorda Bay, Texas, and the mouth of the Mississippi River. Rip currents are also expected.

An isolated tornado is possible over the next couple of days along the Gulf Coast and into the Deep South, especially in any coastal bands that form. We actually saw one near Dothan, Alabama. This is due to the excess of tropical moisture and the subtropical jet providing the perfect upper-level conditions for short-lived tornadoes for the South.