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Tropical Storm Colin is expected to hit Florida's Gulf Coast on Monday. People in northern Ohio are already cleaning up from stormy weekend weather. AP
This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, June 6, 2016, at 12:45 a.m. EDT shows Tropical Storm Colin continuing to move due north over eastern portions of the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the outer rain bands also have begun moving over the western Florida shoreline as the tropical storm continues to move northward. An extended area of clouds is observed stretching from a low pressure system over southern Quebec over much of the eastern seaboard and connecting to Colin.(Photo: NOAA/Weather Underground via AP)
MELBOURNE, Fla.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Tropical Storm Colin<span style="color: Red;">*</span>moved toward Florida’s Big Bend<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Monday, announcing its imminent arrival with rain and gusty winds near the Gulf Coast shore and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>prompting the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>National Hurricane Center to issue<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>tropical storm warning for much of central and northern Florida.
As of 2 p.m. ET, the center of the storm churned<span style="color: Red;">*</span>about 165 miles west-southwest of Appalachicola, Fla.,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and was moving to the north-northeast at 17 mph, the hurricane center said. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.
Tropical storms carry wind speeds between 39 mph and 73 mph. Forecasters do not expect Colin's wind speed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to reach 74 mph, which would classify<span style="color: Red;">*</span>it as a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>hurricane.
Colin is the third named storm of the 2016 hurricane season. It is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>also<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the earliest "C"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>or third<span style="color: Red;">*</span>storm of a season since<span style="color: Red;">*</span>records began in 1851. Since the 1950s, when tropical storms were first named, there have only been two other June Atlantic "C" storms: Chris in 2012 and Candy in 1968, according to weather.com.
Colin is forecast to approach<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the coast of the Florida Big Bend area late Monday afternoon or<span style="color: Red;">*</span>evening, move across portions of Florida and southeastern Georgia<span style="color: Red;">*</span>early Tuesday morning, and then travel up<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the southeastern coast of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>U.S. later on Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Florida Gov.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Rick Scott issued an executive order on Monday declaring a state of emergency in 34 counties in advance of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Tropical Storm Colin's expected landfall.
“The system has strengthened a little bit,"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said Will Ulrich, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, said early Monday. "The stronger winds are on the eastern side of this particular storm and it looks like it will be a little closer to us.”
The storm has the potential to produce tornadoes and heavy rainfall, Ulrich said.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>A flood watch has also been issued for several parts of the state.
USA TODAY
Tropical Storm Colin threatens Florida's Gulf Coast
Weather officials also warned boaters, surfers and swimmers tempted by the high, pounding surfs and rough waves to avoid getting in the water as dangerous rip currents are<span style="color: Red;">*</span>expected to develop along the state’s eastern and western shores.
“It’s not a good day to go out on water,” Ulrich said.
The storm could dump between three to five inches of rain in the Melbourne area alone — and more in other isolated spots across the state, presenting a threat to low-lying areas and heavily-traveled roadways.
“It’s going to be messy,” said Tim Sedlock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne late Sunday.
The weather service in Mobile, Ala., issued a flood warning for the Shoal River near Crestview and warned of possible widespread flooding in streams, creeks, and canals. Wind gusts threatened to bring down trees and branches and cause power outages.
The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season officially began last Wednesday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and will run through Nov. 30.
Contributing: The Associated Press, Doyle Rice, USA TODAY. Follow J.D. Gallop on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Twitter:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>@JDGallop
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