Tropical Storm Claudette formed this Saturday around 4:00 am (Eastern Time) and made landfall in Louisiana.
The system, which keeps about seven million people on alert in the coastal areas of
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida
, is moving north-northeast with maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour (75 kilometers per hour), reported the National Hurricane Center.
It is the third tropical storm of the hurricane season that began on June 1.
[How and when to prepare for a hurricane or tropical storm]
The system, previously called Tres, has already hit coastal communities with wind and rain starting this Friday, threatening to interfere in the celebrations of Father's Day and the Juneteenth holiday.
Not very encouraging forecasts for this hurricane season
May 31, 202101: 23
The National Hurricane Center has issued a
tropical storm watch for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida,
stretching from eastern Morgan City, Louisiana, to the Okaloosa-Walton County line in the
Florida
panhandle
.
Forecasters warned that the tropical system will bring heavy rain, storm surge and coastal flooding to the central Gulf of Mexico coast starting Friday and throughout the weekend.
At around 4 a.m. this Saturday, he was about
45 miles (75 kilometers) southwest of New Orleans,
Louisiana.
The governor of that state
, John Bel Edwards, activated the state of emergency on Thursday night,
an administrative measure that authorizes the use of state resources for response to the storm.
The cyclone is expected to produce up to eight inches (20 centimeters) of rain on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, and up to
12 inches (30 centimeters) over the weekend on the central Gulf Coast of the United States.
The combination of the storm surge and the tide will cause
normally dry areas near the coast to flood with increased waters moving inland
from the coast, forecasters said.
The water could reach heights of one to three feet (30-91 centimeters).
What areas of the country could be most affected during the 2021 hurricane season?
June 1, 202102: 08
At Tacky Jack's, a popular Alabama coastal restaurant in Orange Beach, "the winds are blowing pretty strong," kitchen manager Greg Paddie said Friday.
"I hope he comes in and goes," he added.
People in Orange Beach were talking about the storm, but without the same concern as Hurricane Sally last year, Paddie said, adding that Tacky Jack's still has sandbags left over from those preparations.
Sally dumped boats ashore and left hundreds of thousands of people without power in Alabama and Florida.
Two people died in the storm: one drowned and another died during cleanup efforts.
Flood advisories also spread to northern Georgia, including Atlanta.
Up to
six inches (15 centimeters) of rain will be possible in parts of western Georgia
as the storm moves toward the northeast, the National Weather Service said.
There have already been two tropical storms during the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, which will last until November. Forecasters expect the season to be intense, but not as strong as the record-breaking 2020 season.
