A disorganized Tropical Storm Colin in the Gulf of Mexico is forecast to cross Florida overnight threatening evacuations in the state's northern and central regions before striking the Georgia and South Carolina coastlines Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Flood and flash flood warnings stretch from South Carolina to Florida where as much as 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain will fall across a large area, the U.S. Weather Prediction Center said. Some areas could get as much as 8 inches and rain could prompt evacuations, the National Weather Service said.
The storm is forecast to strike near Florida's Big Bend region, the marshy coast that extends from Indian Pass to Englewood, later Monday, the hurricane center in Miami said in an advisory at 11 a.m. New York time. While its position in the Gulf of Mexico is far from the bulk of oil rigs and natural gas platforms off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, orange juice futures jumped to the highest in more than two years as Colin is expected to reduce the Florida crop.
"Due to the displacement of the strong winds and heavy rainfall from the center of Colin, it is important to not focus on the exact forecast track," Daniel Brown, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center in Miami, wrote in the 11 a.m. forecast. "Heavy rainfall, strong winds, and coastal flooding will begin affecting portions of the Florida Peninsula this afternoon well in advance of the center's nearing the coast."
There are also warnings on the east coast from South Santee River, South Carolina to Sebastian Inlet, Florida. Colin, with top winds of 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour was 285 miles west-southwest of Tampa, the hurricane center said the advisory.
Hurricane season
Colin is the third named storm of 2016 and the second in just more than a week heralding an early start to the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1. The first storm of the year was Hurricane Alex, which formed in the mid-Atlantic in January. A storm gets a name when its winds reach tropical-storm strength of 39 mph.
By the time Colin reaches the Atlantic Tuesday, its winds could peak at 60 mph as it is nudged away from the U.S. East Coat by a low pressure system over the eastern part of the country.
While Colin has strengthened some since it first developed Sunday, it is disorganized and facing wind shear, which will probably keep it from getting any stronger, Brown wrote.
"It should be noted that Colin could lose its status as a tropical cyclone while impacts are still occurring along the coast," Brown wrote. "In this case, NHC would anticipate continuing advisories and warnings on the post-tropical cyclone."
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