North Florida and the Georgia coast could be in for some wet and windy weather today and Friday as the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Andrea, moves northeastward out of the Gulf of Mexico.
Less than a week after the beginning of hurricane season, forecasters issued a tropical storm warning for a swath of Florida’s west coast starting at Boca Grande, an island to the northwest of Fort Myers, and ending in the Big Bend area of the state. The National Hurricane Center said it expects Andrea to make landfall there sometime today.
Andrea had maximum sustained winds near 40 mph and is forecast to reach 45 mph today. The hurricane center said there is little chance of strengthening after that.
A topical storm watch was issued for most of northeast Florida, coastal Georgia and the Carolinas, extending to Surf City, N.C.
Forecasters said Andrea could bring three to six inches of rain to parts of Florida and Georgia, with isolated areas seeing as much as eight inches. A hurricane center advisory said coastal areas north of Tampa could also see storm surge of several feet.
A forecast map shows the storm continuing along the East Coast through the weekend before heading out to sea again, though a storm’s track is often hard to predict days in advance.
Along the Alabama coast, authorities said rough currents caused by the storm had forced the rescue of more than a dozen swimmers. Gulf Shores, Ala., city spokesman Grant Brown said most did not require hospitalization, but a 17-year-old boy was taken to the University of South Alabama Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Mobile. Brown said the boy regained consciousness after CPR was administered.
Authorities said red warning flags were likely to fly at the beaches until the storm system leaves the area.
Late Wednesday, Andrea triggered a weather alert for parts of Cuba, including Havana. The island was already receiving heavy rains from a low-pressure system moving east from Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.
Cuban news media reported flooding had forced the evacuation of 1,000 people, mostly along the Cuyaguateje River in Pinar del Rio.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast that the hurricane season, which began Saturday, will be more active than usual, with 13 to 20 named storms and three to six of them major hurricanes. Last year saw 19 named storms but only two major hurricanes.
On Monday, the Colorado State University hurricane forecast team repeated its April forecast of 18 storms reaching at least tropical storm status.
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