Remnants of what was Tropical Storm Fred entered the lower Gulf of Mexico late on Saturday amid forecasts it would regain tropical storm strength yesterday as it moves toward the northern US Gulf Coast.
Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Grace, which formed on Saturday morning in the Atlantic, was slightly weaker by nightfall and showing signs of poor organization as it kicked up sea squalls off the island of Guadeloupe.
Grace was forecast to be nearer to South Florida by mid-week.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Forecasters said the disorganized remnants of Tropical Storm Fred passed by the Florida Keys on Saturday and then moved into the southeast Gulf of Mexico later in the day.
At 11pm, Fred’s remnants were about 205km west-northwest of Havana and moving west-northwest at 15kph. It had top sustained winds of 55kph.
Forecasters said Fred would regenerate into a tropical storm yesterday and urged people from Mississippi to the central Florida Panhandle to begin monitoring the storm’s progress.
Fred is expected to bring heavy rain to the southeastern US by today, but is not projected to reach hurricane strength.
Anticipating Fred, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had already declared a state of emergency for the state’s Panhandle region.
In Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey issued a statement on Saturday that her administration is monitoring the storm and “will be ready to act from the state level if needed.”
Meanwhile, a tropical storm warning in effect earlier for the Florida Keys was canceled on Saturday as the storm began moving into the Gulf.
All told, Fred was expected to bring 7.5cm to 12.5cm of rain to the Keys and southern Florida through today.
A tropical storm last week, Fred weakened to a depression by its spin over Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where it knocked out power to about 400,000 customers and caused flooding that forced officials to shut part of the country’s aqueduct system, interrupting water service for hundreds of thousands of people. Local officials reported hundreds of people were evacuated and some buildings were damaged.
On Saturday, Fred was downgraded to a tropical wave with top winds of about 55kph. Tropical waves can contain winds and heavy rain, but do not circulate around a center point or an “eye” that a tropical storm or hurricane has.
Fred and Grace, regardless of their storm status, posed a heavy rain and flood threat, forecasters have said.
Grace was forecast to bring 7.5cm to 15cm of rain to the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico into tomorrow.
At 11pm, Grace was centered 275km east-southeast of St. Croix, and 430km east-southeast of San Juan. It was moving west-northwest at 31kph, with top sustained winds of 65kph.
Grace prompted a tropical storm warning for several islands and territories, including Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
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