JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gordon is still forecasted by the National Hurricane Center to become a category one hurricane close to landfall which could occur tonight near Mississippi and Louisiana.
TRACK THE STORM: Interactive map of tropics
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At 5 a.m. Tuesday, the storm had sustained winds of 65 mph. The center of the system was 230 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and it was moving toward the west-northwest at 17 mph.
Isolated maximum amounts of 6 inches are possible over the southern Florida peninsula through early Tuesday. Tropical storm-force wind gusts are possible Monday across portions of South Florida and the Keys.
Additional strengthening is forecast during the next hours, and Gordon is expected to be near hurricane strength when makes landfall along the central Gulf Coast.
The storm is expected to continue moving northwest, crossing the Gulf of Mexico over the next two days. The current projection would have Gordon making landfall near the Louisiana-Mississippi border as a Category 1 Hurricane into the early Wednesday morning hours.
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for Shell Beach to Dauphin Island along with a Hurricane Warning for areas from the mouth of the Pearl River to the Alabama-Florida Border.
The forecast tracks Gordon across the eastern Gulf of Mexico today, and will approach the north-central Gulf Coast within the warning area late this afternoon or evening, and move inland
over the lower Mississippi Valley tonight or early Wednesday.
The combination of a dangerous 3 foot storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Florence continues to hold steady over the eastern Atlantic, about 1000 miles west-northwest of the southernmost Cabo Verde Islands.
Florence was moving toward the west near 15 mph and maximum sustained winds of 70 mph with higher gusts late Monday evening.
Forecasters say little change in strength is expected in coming days and no coastal watches or warnings are in effect.