HEAVY RAINS AND TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS CONTINUE ALONG PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN GULF COAST... ...TROPICAL STORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR A PORTION OF THE NORTH CAROLINA COAST...
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from the Mouth of the Mississippi River to the Okaloosa/Walton County line, Fla. Tropical storm conditions should continue along the coast in the warning area for a few more hours.
A Tropical Storm Watch is now in effect from Cape Fear to Duck, North Carolina, including Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area Sunday night and Monday.
A turn toward the northeast is expected later today, followed by a motion toward the east-northeast tonight or Sunday. On the forecast track, the system should move farther inland across portions of southeast U.S. through Sunday night, and over the western Atlantic Ocean on Monday.
Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles (335 km) southeast of the center. Claudette is expected to weaken to a tropical depression later today, but then become a tropical storm again when it moves across the Carolinas Sunday night or early Monday.
Claudette is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches across portions of coastal Mississippi and Alabama, and the western Florida Panhandle through the afternoon. Considerable flash, urban and small stream flooding impacts as well as new and renewed minor to isolated moderate river flooding are likely across these areas.
As the system continues to lift northeast through the weekend, heavy rain will occur across central Alabama, central and northern Georgia, and into the Piedmont of the Carolinas, resulting in rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 8 inches. Flash, urban, small stream and isolated minor river flooding impacts are possible.
The combination of storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide... - Mouth of the Pearl River to Okaloosa/Walton County Line, FL...2-3 ft - Mobile Bay...2-3 ft - Mouth of the Mississippi River to Mouth of the Pearl River...1-2 ft - Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Lake Borgne...1-2 ft - Okaloosa/Walton County Line, FL to Panama City, FL...1-2 ft Pensacola Bay, Choctawhatchee Bay, Saint Andrew Bay...1-2 ft - Cape Lookout, NC to NC/VA state line...1-3 ft
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