MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- The tropical mass of moisture has organized well enough Tuesday afternoon to be classified as a named system, but the Big Bend region will encounter more rain than anything else.
The center of Tropical Storm Cindy was located about 250 miles from the coast of Louisiana, with peak winds of 60 mph late Tuesday night.
While the low-pressure center is stationary in movement, waves of tropical moisture are streaming on the eastern side of the circulation. It is this moisture that is triggering steady light to moderate rain for most of the western half of the Big Bend region.
Occasionally heavy rain will impact the central and western coastline of the Big Bend through tonight and Wednesday, with rainfall totals that may exceed four inches in these areas. Higher rain amounts are possible across the Panhandle and points west.
Eastern sections of the Big Bend coast and the Suwannee River Valley should encounter fewer periods of rain, and lesser totals as a result through mid-week.
A coastal flood advisory is posted for the entire coastal bend through Wednesday evening. Onshore winds, generally weaker than tropical storm force, may still create a rise above normal water levels, up to two feet.
Isolated instances of waterspouts are possible for the shoreline with a few embedded stronger rotating storm cells that may develop and move onshore quickly. This chance increases west of the Apalachicola River through tonight and Wednesday.
A flash flood watch is also in effect through early Thursday for many western Big Bend and southwest Georgia counties for the chance of quick rainfall accumulations over a short period of time.
