Lonka said the storm in the Gulf was forecast to move across northern Florida later this week toward the Atlantic, but likely to stay south of North Carolina. Highest winds were still 35 miles per hour.
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At the same time, a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico prompted the U.S.
Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for 42 counties in Florida in preparation for damage expected from Tropical Depression Nine.
But the hurricane center on Tuesday took the unusual step of issuing hurricane and tropical storm watches for portions of Florida’s Gulf coast. This is the exact reason why we started naming storm systems in the first place.
Isolated tornadoes are also possible late tonight into Thursday morning, mainly across central Florida. Forecasters believe the storm will become a tropical storm later today and strengthen during the next couple of days.
Forecast models predict it will lose strength over land and then potentially pick up as it skirts the Atlantic Coast along Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
There is the potential for 4-8 inches of rain near, east and northeast of where the center makes landfall.
Looking to the Pacific, Hurricane Lester, yet another storm, spun with winds of 120 miles per hour and could eventually impact portions of Hawaii by the Labor Day weekend. Sandbags are available for residents around the Tampa Bay area.
Elsewhere, a powerful hurricane threatened to pass “dangerously close” to Hawaii, and a hurricane watch was issued for parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast because of a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico.
Watch the video below for the latest forecast for the storm. Storm surge flooding of 1-2 feet above ground level could impact low-lying, flood-prone areas through early Friday evening.
Up to 10 inches of rain could fall in central and north Florida through Friday.
The tropical storm warning area stretches from the Anclote River in Pasco County northward to Destin in north Florida.
All the systems are likely to bring drenching rain, high winds and churning seas in varying degrees of intensity right before one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
The depression’s maximum sustained winds are 35 miles per hour (55 kph). Forecasters warned the northwest of the state could see to 12 inches of rain.
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Scarborough, who manages Hatteras Harbor Marina and owns the Harbor Deli next door, said she’s receiving concerned calls from customers and that some captains are canceling fishing trips for Tuesday and Wednesday. Large and damaging surf is also expected along east facing shores of the Big Island as well.
