ORLANDO, Fla. — Potential Tropical Cycle Three formed late Thursday and is forecast to bring heavy rain and flooding to the Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm is likely to become Claudette, which would make it the third named storm of the season.
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Weather officials said the disturbance was “poorly defined” as of Friday morning.
The system is expected to approach the north-central Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday.
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The storm will then continue to move northeastward across the southeastern United States after landfall, the NHC said.
Forecasters expect the storm to strengthen into a subtropical or tropical storm once it moves over the west-central or northwestern Gulf of Mexico on Friday.
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Over the next 48 hours, the storm has a high chance at developing further, at 90%.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect along the Louisiana coast.
The warning has also been extended eastward for the Florida Panhandle from the Alabama/Florida border to the Okaloosa/Walton County line.
Most of the rain is expected to stay west of Central Florida until late this weekend, when rain chances increase.
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