Tropical Storm Gordon, already hammering south Florida with wind and heavy rains, is expected to make landfall at the Mississippi-Alabama border Tuesday evening, possibly as a Category 1 hurricane. The forecast path has prompted tropical storm and storm surge warnings for portions of southeastern Louisiana and a hurricane watch and surge warning for the Mississippi coast.
The storm surge warning is in effect for New Orleans and St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes. A storm surge watch is in place for lower Plaquemines Parish.
At 1 p.m. Monday (Sept. 3), Gordon was 15 miles west-southwest of Marco Island, Fla., or nearly 600 miles east-southeast of New Orleans. The storm was moving west-northwest at 16 mph, with top sustained winds of 50 mph.
“On the forecast track, the center of Gordon will emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico by early afternoon, reach the warning area late Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday night, and move inland over the lower Mississippi Valley on Wednesday,” said an 11 a.m. forecast message issued by the Slidell office of the National Weather Service.
