Tropical storm Gordon weakens into a depression

By Wednesday afternoon the numbers were down to about 5,800 in Alabama, 3,000 in MS and a little more than 2,000 in Florida.

There were no immediate injury or damage reports, other than the tree that fell on the mobile home in Pensacola. Tornado warnings were in effect in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. It was moving to the northwest at 13 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour.

There are no watches or warnings for this storm.

The storm’s turbulent center is expected to plow a path from the southwest corner of Alabama and central MS into part of Louisiana and southern Arkansas.

Energy companies and port operators along the US Gulf Coast took steps to resume operations after Tropical Storm Gordon.

Further offshore, another system, Florence, has rapidly coalesced into a category 2 hurricane and appears to barreling toward the tropical eastern Atlantic coastline.

Gordon was located about 190 east, southeast of the mouth of the MS, moving west, northwest at 15 miles per hour Tuesday morning, with sustained winds of 65 miles per hour.

If one or both of these become named, the next two names on this year’s list are “Helene” and ‘Isaac’.

The Miami-based forecasting center said Tuesday that Gordon struck about 10 p.m.

Beachgoers in the area were being warned Wednesday that it’s too early to return to the water; unsafe rip currents prompted red-flag warnings, meaning it’s illegal to enter the Gulf of Mexico.

Governors in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have declared states of emergency, according to NPR, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott asked for “Floridians and our visitors to remain vigilant”, according to a statement.

The city expects to feel the storm’s impact beginning late Tuesday and continuing through Wednesday, she said.

Image: The path of the storm.

“We are still seeing abnormal to exceptional drought (conditions)”, Drake said.

At Jo Bobs Gas and Grill on Grand Isle, cashier Emily Dorathy said they made sure the generator was ready to provide power if the electricity goes out. Up to 12 inches are possible in some locations, with local flash flooding and river flooding expected in some places including the Mobile, Alabama, and Jackson, Mississippi, metro areas.

Helen Thacker, Nicole Baker and Dana Baker, left to right, walk through a flooded area near a home as tropical storm Gordon approaches Dauphin Island, Ala.

“It’s fantastic, it came straight down off the side of the building and it landed upright”, said Pastor Robert Gardner. Red flags flew over Pensacola-area beaches in Florida’s Panhandle, where swimming and wading in the Gulf of Mexico was prohibited.