Gordon Fizzles; Hurricane Florence Waits in the Wings

Tropical Storm Gordon weakened Wednesday into a tropical depression, while forecasters kept their eyes on a strong storm churning in the Atlantic.

Gordon never strengthened into a hurricane but still brought misery along the central U.S. Gulf Coast. The storm knocked out power, caused floods and spawned several tornadoes. It was responsible for at least one death, when a large piece of a tree fell on a mobile home in Pensacola, Florida, killing a 10-month-old baby.

Flash flood watches were out from the Florida Panhandle west to as far north as Illinois as Gordon moved farther inland.

Meanwhile, forecasters were watching Florence, a strong Category 4 storm that was about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) east of Bermuda as of late Wednesday.

Forecasters predicted Florence would weaken a bit over the next few days but would still be a powerful storm as it crept closer to Bermuda and the U.S. East Coast. That arrival was expected early next week.

Florence would be the first major Atlantic hurricane of the season to make landfall.

Posted Under

comments: