- Mid-Atlantic states could also see drenching rains.
- Texas could be a target of Grace on the Gulf Coast.
- A few tornadoes were possible from Tropical Storm Fred in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
Tropical Storm Fred moved into southeastern Alabama Monday night after making landfall that afternoon near in the eastern part of Florida, and is expected to dissipate Wednesday morning.
But a new storm was expected to strengthen into a tropical storm Tuesday, targeting Haiti and Texas before moving into the Gulf of Mexico.
Fred’s maximum sustained winds had weakened after landfall and were now at 40 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. The weather service had lifted all watches and warnings surrounding the storm by late Monday.
Fred was one of three storms swirling in the Atlantic Basin. Lining up behind Fred were Tropical Depression Grace, which drenched the Dominican Republic and earthquake-battered Haiti Monday, and Tropical Storm Henri, which formed Monday afternoon near Bermuda. Henri became the eighth named storm of the Atlantic season. Tropical Depression Grace was forecast to strengthen after it moved over Haiti Tuesday.
The National Hurricane Center said a tropical storm watch was in effect for Bermuda.
President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Florida as Fred threatened flooding, tornadoes and damaging winds. A state of emergency authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist local and state emergency efforts.
Fred wallops Florida, Alabama
Along Panama City Beach in Florida’s Panhandle, lifeguards hoisted double red flags, warning beachgoers against going into the Gulf of Mexico. The area braced for rain and some wind from the storm, and although no evacuations were ordered, schools and government offices were closed Monday.
“We’ve certainly been in a lot worse than this, but that’s no reason to be complacent,” Florida’s Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said. “The less people out on the road, the better. We do expect some heavy rain from this storm.”
Saltwater washed over roads, causing flooding in low-lying areas of Dauphin Island, a coastal barrier south of Mobile, Alabama, on Monday, Mayor Jeff Collier said.
A few tornadoes were possible later Monday across parts of the Florida Panhandle, southwest Georgia and southeast Alabama, the hurricane center said.
Fred’s drenching rains could sweep into the mid-Atlantic states
Portions of the South could see up to 4-8 inches of rain with isolated maximum storm totals of 12 inches, the hurricane center warned Monday. Southeast Alabama through western and northern Georgia and the western Carolinas could be drenched with 4-7 inches of rain with isolated maximum storm totals of 10 inches.
Through Wednesday, portions of Virginia and other mid-Atlantic states were forecast to see 2 to 4 inches of rain with isolated maximum storm totals of 6 inches as Fred interacts with a nearby front, the center said.
The heavy rainfall could lead to flash, urban, small stream and isolated river flooding, the center said. Landslides were possible along the Blue Ridge mountains Tuesday.
Fred’s center is forecast to dissipate by Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service said.
‘Life-threatening’ Fred: Tropical storm closing in on Florida
‘Life-threatening’ storm surge possible
The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the Panhandle’s coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline, the hurricane center warned. Storm surge could reach 5 feet in some areas.
“There is a danger of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland,” the center said.
Tropical Depression Grace closes in on Dominican Republic, Haiti
As of 11 p.m. Monday, Grace was centered 100 miles west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, moving west at 14 mph. Heavy rains from the storm pushed across Haiti, the hurricane center said. Top winds were about 35 mph, a few miles per hour short of tropical storm status. Grace was expected to regain tropical storm status Tuesday.
Rain also fell in Puerto Rico on Monday as Grace pushed into the area.
Grace was forecast to move over Hispaniola throughout the day Monday, and the hurricane center predicted rainfall of up to 15 inches could cause flash and urban flooding and possible mudslides for Haiti and the Dominican Republic through Tuesday.
In Haiti, rocked by a massive earthquake Saturday that killed at least 1,300 people, first responders and volunteers scrambled to rescue survivors as the storm moved across the country.
Texas could be Grace’s US target
Grace is expected to emerge in the Gulf of Mexico this week, and the U.S. Gulf Coast could be a target. AccuWeather forecasters said they are monitoring the atmospheric conditions and how they could influence where Grace will track into the weekend. These factors include the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as winds at various levels in the atmosphere.
“Should no other weather systems in the southern United States steer Grace off-course, the tropical system may take aim at Texas,” AccuWeather said.
Far southern Texas remained in Grace’s potential forecast path, but the storm appeared more likely to impact Mexico, according to the latest forecast from the hurricane center, issued Monday morning. Grace was forecast to reach minimal hurricane strength of 74 mph before making landfall, the hurricane center said.
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Tropical Storm Henri develops near Bermuda
Tropical Storm Henri had maximum sustained winds around 45 mph and was about 140 miles southeast of Bermuda as of Monday night.
The storm was expected to make a “slow clockwise turn toward the west” over the next few days, forecasters said in an advisory. The center of the depression was forecast to move southeast and south of the island territory.
Though early in the storm’s development, forecasters did not expect Henri to reach the U.S. coast.
Contributing: Elinor Aspegren, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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