Tropical storm Colin is expected to bring heavy rain, flooding and flash flooding to parts of Florida and the Southeast through Monday night and into Tuesday. Colin could also spawn a few tornadoes and cause some coastal flooding.
Based on observations at 5 p.m. today, Colin is moving on a north-northeast course at about 23 mph and is centered about 190 miles west-northwest of Tampa. Maximum sustained winds have been clocked at 50 mph with some gusts up to 60 mph. The NHC has extended its tropical Storm warnings northeast to Oregon Inlet in North Carolina, according to Fox News.
Rainfall amounts of from 3.5 to 5 inches are likely across parts of Florida, southeastern Georgia, and the coastal Carolinas, with up to 8 inches possible locally. People need to be aware of high surf and coastal flooding into Monday night. Storm surge is expected to be as much as one to three feet from Indian Pass to Tampa Bay and from 1 to 2 feet from Tampa Bay to Florida Bay.
This is a fast-moving storm and is expected to make landfall sometime later this evening along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Colin should then be near or off the coast of the Carolinas by late Tuesday. Tropical storm Colin is not well organized, but Hurricane Hunter aircraft found that with the increase in the maximum sustained winds at 50 mph, there was also some strengthening taking place.
Tropical Depression One-E forms
In other related news, the NHC is now watching the first tropical depression of the East Pacific season. This storm is centered near the southern coast of Mexico, moving to the northeast at 7.0 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1006 mb. Mexico has issued tropical storm warnings for the areas affected by the storm.
