Tropical Storm Emily has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, less than 100 miles to the west of Tampa Bay.
ATLANTA – A Tropical Storm Warning was issued Monday morning for portions of the west coast of Florida from the Tampa Bay area down to Fort Myers, in advance of newly formed Tropical Storm Emily.
As of 8 a.m., Emily was located about 45 miles west-southwest of Tampa, and it was moving to the east at 8 mph. It has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. It is expected to increase speed and move inland in the Tampa area later in the day on Monday. After crossing the state, Emily is expected to turn toward the northeast and move off the east coast of Florida early on Tuesday.
11Alive Meteorologist Chesley McNeil says Tropical Storm Emily is expected to weaken to a tropical depression while it moves across the Florida peninsula before emerging over the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday. It is expected to regain tropical storm strength once it re-emerges over the ocean.
Tropical storm force winds are now extending outward about 60 miles from the center of the storm. Total rainfall amounts along Emily’s path are expected to run around 2-to-4 inches through Monday night with isolated rainfall amounts of up to 8 inches.
Emily began as a loosely organized area of showers and thunderstorms in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast, which rapidly developed into a tropical depression overnight, before becoming a named tropical storm early Monday morning.
On its anticipated path, Emily is not expected to affect weather for Georgia. Once it passes over Florida and heads out over the Atlantic, it is expected to move northeastward and remain away from the US East Coast.
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