Gulf Coast under tropical storm warning
Story Highlights
Warning area stretches from Florida to Mississippi Delta
Subtropical depression forms in Gulf of Mexico
Isolated tornadoes possible in Georgia, Florida, Alabama
System spun off strong storms Thursday night in FloridaNext Article in U.S. »
Read MAP
(CNN) -- The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning Friday for a long stretch of the Gulf Coast.
A subtropical depression dumps heavy rain along the Gulf Coast in a NOAA satellite image.
The warning area reaches from Apalachicola, Florida, to the mouth of the Mississippi River, including New Orleans, Louisiana.
The warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within 24 hours.
The warning was prompted by the development of a subtropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico.
Maximum sustained winds from the depression were clocked at 35 mph (55 kph), and forecasters expected the system to strengthen by Saturday.
Around 11 a.m. ET, the depression's poorly defined center was about 45 miles (75 kilometers) southwest of Apalachicola and 185 miles (300 kilometers) southeast of Mobile, Alabama. It was moving northwest at 8 mph (13 kph), the hurricane center said.
The system could generate tornadoes in southwestern Georgia, the Florida Panhandle and southeastern Alabama through Friday night, the center said. See where the system is expected to go »
Don't Miss
Strong storms hit central Florida
WDSU: Gulf Coast under tropical storm warning
The system caused severe storms, including a possible tornado, in Florida on Thursday night.
Two to 4 inches of rain, with isolated downpours of as much as 6 inches, could fall throughout the warning area, forecasters said.
In anticipation of the storm system's approach, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared a pre-emptive state of emergency Thursday. The order prompts state and local agencies, including the state police and the National Guard, to get ready for evacuations and relief work. E-mail to a friend
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/weather/09/21/tropical.weather/index.html
