Tropical Storm Threat Targets Gulf Coast States of Florida, Louisiana and Texas

U.S. weather experts warned that a tropical depression forming off the Florida coast could evolve into a tropical storm and affect Gulf Coast states. The system is expected to move northwest along the coastline, bringing heavy rain of up to five inches, winds reaching 40 mph, and a storm surge of up to four feet. Authorities have placed surge watches from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Alabama–Florida border and issued tropical storm warnings from the Okaloosa River in Florida to the Jefferson and Blackmines areas of southeast Louisiana.

The forecast calls for the disturbance to impact Florida, Louisiana and Texas from Monday through Friday, with a risk of flash flooding across a broad area from western Florida to central Texas. Officials warned that the surge could threaten lives on the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana, and that the storm may spawn tornadoes in Florida’s Big Bend region.