Tropical Storm Colin hammered much of Florida Monday, dumping fast-accumulating rain and causing flooding in certain parts of the Sunshine State.
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The storm, which was 55 miles (90 km) southwest of Jacksonville at 2 a.m. eastern time (0600 GMT), barreled across the state at 23 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
As Colin blasted 50 miles per hour winds at Florida, a tornado was reported in Lee County Florida, the National Weather Service said. During the next 24 hours for Colin to continue moving northeast across the northern portion of the Florida peninsula and entering the western Atlantic with convection.
Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Colin hit north Florida and southern Georgia on Monday, knocking out power in some areas and flooding roads on the Gulf coast.
However, rain could be quite heavy with amounts of 3 to 5 inches along the coast with isolated higher amounts up to 8 inches possible.
Forecasters also described Colin as a lopsided storm, with tropical storm-force winds extending up to 185 miles east of its center. The blue circle next to Colin’s location is the area now seeing Tropical Storm Force winds. Some localized coastal flooding could occur during high tide this afternoon as gusty outer band storms move in but the effects should be marginal and of very short duration.
The National Weather Service has issued a FLASH FLOOD WATCH for Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, New Hanover, Pender, Onslow and Robeson Counties through Tuesday afternoon.
“If last night was a “no storm”, and the water was nearly up to the hump in my yard”, Milligan said, “I’m anxious”.
On the forecast track, the center of Colin will move onshore in the Florida Big Bend area shortly, then move across northern Florida and southeastern Georgia through early Tuesday morning, and move near or over the southeastern coast later in the day.
Carolina Beach officials are working today to ensure the town’s lake will not overflow onto roadways during Tropical Storm Colin as it did during a similar event in October. People need to be aware of high surf and coastal flooding into Monday night.
Not everyone in Florida was hunkering down.
The uptick follows a below-average 2015 season that recorded 11 tropical storms in the Atlantic, with just four hurricanes, two of them major.
Colin is part of a brisk start to the Atlantic hurricane season running through November 30.
The National Hurricane Center canceled tropical storm warnings early Tuesday along the Florida Gulf Coast from Indian Pass to the Suwannee River.
Hurricane season officially began June 1.
Other areas on the USA eastern seaboard were also drenched on Sunday, as storms moved from the west. Rain fell on and off in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and parts of the Carolinas.
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No touchdowns were reported, but the warning served as a sign of expected weather to come, WINK Meteorologist Matt Devitt said.
