MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- The strong Tropical Storm Gordon marches toward the central Gulf coast late Tuesday while spreading heavy rain across the Panhandle, and scattering rain and thunderstorms in the Big Bend and southern Georgia counties.
Gordon had peak winds of near 70 mph late-afternoon Tuesday, moving northwest at 15 mph. The center of the low-pressure is about 65 miles south of Perdido Key, Fla., as of 5 p.m.
Gordon is projected to maintain its current course of movement, which would carry the center of the storm toward the Alabama and Mississippi coastlines later Tuesday or early Wednesday.
A direct landfall for the Big Bend region will not occur. But, with the broader reach of clouds and rain, and a wind field that can expand beyond its center, the local region has encounter times of rain, especially steady in the western Big Bend, Forgotten Coast and points westward.
Offshore winds have exceeded 30 mph. Surf has increased and may buffet shorelines with waves and higher rip current threats. East wind flow will increase coastal water levels by about 1 foot along the local barrier islands.
Rain totals will range from less than one-half inch in most interior south Georgia counties, to one-half to one inch near the state line and the Suwannee River, to over two inches along the immediate coast and in the Apalachicola River basin through Wednesday morning.
