The weather system is threatening to strength into a tropical storm before slamming into several states, including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, according to the National Hurricane Center. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
The system is expected to produce up to 12 inches of rain through the weekend along the central U.S. Gulf Coast. It was located about 255 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana, on Friday morning with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. It was moving north toward the Gulf Coast at 14 mph and will likely approach the north-central Gulf Coast by Friday night or early Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
When the weather system reaches storm status, it will be named Claudette, the third storm of the 2021 season that began this month.
![Potential Tropical Cyclone 3 at 11 a.m. June 18, 2021.]()
Normally dry areas near the coast may be flooded by rising waters. There is a high risk of rip currents and high surf at beaches in affected areas near Gulf Coast shores starting Friday. Other potential weather threats may include brief tornadoes, minor coastal flooding and minimal tropical force winds of between 40 to 45 miles per hour.
The weather system began as a broad area of low pressure in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and has been producing widespread but disorganized showers and thunderstorms, according to the National Hurricane Center. It now has a 90% chance of strengthening enough to become a tropical storm or tropical depression by Saturday as it moves northeastward across the southeast United States.
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