Miami, Sept. 12 (AP) A tropical depression running across the Gulf of Mexico has turned into Tropical Storm Sally and threatens Florida with heavy rain, forecasters said Saturday. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm would bring heavy rain to the Florida Keys, as well as the southern and western parts of the state.
The maximum sustained winds were recorded at 65 km / h with higher gusts. Further strengthening is expected over the next few days, with Sally forecast to become a hurricane on Monday night.
An Air Force Hurricane Hunter plane is scheduled to investigate the system Saturday afternoon. As the system will traverse very warm waters and through a moist air mass with moderate vertical shear over the next few days, steady strengthening is anticipated, forecasters wrote in their 2 pm advisory.
Sally was located 60 kilometers south-southeast of Naples, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving west at 11 kilometers per hour. There is a tropical storm watch from the Ochlockonee River to the Okaloosa / Walton County line. The storm is currently expected to bring 5 to 10 centimeters of rain to parts of Florida, with isolated totals of up to 15 centimeters.
Forecasters are warning of an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surges and dangerous hurricane-force winds from southeastern Louisiana to the Alabama coast. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Paulette had maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour and was 820 kilometers southeast of Bermuda, where a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning are in effect.
Forecasters said Paulette would become a hurricane later Saturday and drop up to 6 inches of rain on the territory through Monday, adding that it is expected to be a dangerous hurricane when near Bermuda on Sunday night and Monday. Tropical Storm René weakened and was reclassified as a tropical depression. It had maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour and was located 2020 kilometers east-northeast of the North Leeward Islands.
Forecasters said Rene was not expected to grow stronger and posed no threat to the land. (AP).
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