Tropical Storm Bill nears hurricane strength
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Satellite image taken Monday at 1:45 a.m. EDT.
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SPECIAL REPORT
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| TROPICAL STORM BILL |
As of 2 a.m. EDT:
Latitude 26.8 North
Longitude 91.5 West
Winds: 50 mph
Source: National Hurricane Center
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MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A fast-brewing tropical storm that popped up in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday threatened to become a hurricane before making landfall Monday along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami late Sunday issued a hurricane watch for the coast between Intracoastal City, Louisiana, eastward to Morgan City, Louisiana.
A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible in the watch area in the next 36 hours.
At 2 a.m. EDT Monday, Tropical Storm Bill was centered near latitude 26.8 North, longitude 91.5 West or about 185 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana. The storm is moving north at about 14 mph. This motion is expected to continue until the storm makes landfall late Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
A tropical storm warning is posted for the Gulf Coast from east of High Island, Texas, to Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Bill's maximum sustained winds have increased to near 50 mph with higher gusts. Forecasters say the storm is better organized, strengthening is possible and Bill could reach hurricane intensity before landfall.
Tropical storm force winds extend up to 145 miles from the storm's center, mainly north through east of the system.
Between 5 inches and 8 inches of rain was predicted inland by Monday east of the storm's center. Coastal storm surges up to 5 feet above normal tides were predicted.
Bill is the second tropical storm of the year. The first storm, Ana, formed in mid-April, nearly two months before the Atlantic hurricane season began June 1. It dissipated far out to sea without striking land.
Government forecasters predicted a busier-than-usual hurricane season this year with 11 to 15 named storms and six to nine hurricanes. At least two are expected to be major hurricanes, packing wind speeds higher than 110 mph.
