State College, Pa. -- 22 April 2010 -- The U.S. Coast Guard reported the oil rig that caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday has sunk, and oil leaking from the rig could begin heading towards the Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines in the next day.
AccuWeather.com meteorologists predict the ocean current in the Gulf of Mexico will switch to a southerly direction in the next 24 to 36 hours, which will push oil on the surface of the ocean towards the southeastern U.S. coastline.
As of midday Thursday, the Gulf of Mexico current is taking oil from the sunken rig away from land, but meteorologists expect the current to change course as a storm from the Rockies begins to move towards the Mississippi Valley.
This next system scheduled to bring severe weather into the Mississippi Valley will switch winds to the south, pulling the ocean current in the same direction.
Surface oil washing upon beaches in Louisiana and Mississippi could be devastating for life along the coast.
AccuWeather.com meteorologists said there was a thunderstorm in the area of the oil rig explosion Tuesday night. Lightning could have potentially struck the rig, but weather as a cause for the explosion is under investigation by authorities.
