(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy and now reflects that the hurricane landfall date to Set. 26.)
A tropical storm is evolving in the western Caribbean with potential to intensify into the “strongest hurricane landfall in the U.S. so far this season.”
“Now is the time to start preparing for a hurricane landfall along the Gulf Coast. Don’t wait for this storm to be officially named,” said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter. “This has the potential to rapidly intensify into a powerful hurricane. Don’t let your friends and family along the Gulf Coast be caught off guard. Give them a call or send them a text message and let them know to get ready for a hurricane.”
Porter also warned the storm could strengthen into a major hurricane ― a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale with maximum sustained winds of 111-129 miles per hour.
Residents along the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend region are not the only ones that should be preparing for the storm; Georgia, Alabama, southern Tennessee, and pockets of far western South Carolina and North Carolina are also expected to be impacted by the development.