Tropical Storm Fred is strengthening off of the northwest Florida coast, and could make landfall by Monday evening.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Fred’s main threats are rainfall.
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Haiti braces for Grace, Florida for Fred as storms brew
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Tropical Depression Grace drenched earthquake-damaged Haiti on Monday, threatening to dump up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on a landscape where people are huddling in fields and searching for survivors of a 7.2 earthquake. Tropical Storm Fred was strengthening off the northwest Florida coast, where forecasters said it could make landfall by Monday evening.
Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft determined that Fred’s maximum sustained winds increased to nearly 60 mph (97 kph) and that the tropical storm was shifting eastward. By 8 a.m. EDT, it was 90 miles (145 km) south-southwest of Apalachicola, Florida, moving north at 9 mph (15 kph).
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Fred’s main threats are rainfall — anywhere from 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) for Florida’s Big Bend and Panhandle — and storm surge. High water between 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) could enter the area between Indian Pass and the Steinhatchee River, depending on the tide at the time of Fred’s arrival.
Grace, meanwhile, was moving over Hispaniola Monday after dropping rain on Puerto Rico. With up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of steady rainfall and more in isolated areas, flash floods and mudslides were possible in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.