TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Category 1 Hurricane Nate is soon expected to make a second landfall along the Gulf Coast as the system’s northern eyewall moves onshore the coast of Mississippi.
A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for the Alabama/Florida border and other parts of the Florida Panhandle are still under a Tropical Storm Warning.
“Heavy rain and highs winds are expected for cities like Biloxi, Pensacola, and Gulfport, Alabama. A storm surge of 6-9 feet will likely occur,” said Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Ed Bloodsworth.
“Locally, we will experience higher-than-normal wave activity and a high risk of rip current along Gulf beaches,” said Bloodsworth.
As of Saturday’s 11 p.m. National Hurricane Center advisory, Hurricane Nate was about 35 miles south-southwest of Biloxi, Mississippi and about 60 miles east of New Orleans, Louisiana. Nate has maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and is moving north at 20 mph.
Earlier this week, Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency to prepare the Florida Panhandle for Hurricane Nate.
RELATED: Evacuations at oil platforms, coastal areas as deadly Hurricane Nate moves toward N. Gulf Coast
Watches and Warnings in Effect
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for:
- Mouth of the Pearl River to the Alabama/Florida border
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for:
- Mouth of the Mississippi River to the Okaloosa/Walton County Line Florida
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:
- Metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain
- Lake Maurepas
- Grand Isle Louisiana to the Mouth of the Pearl River
- East of the Alabama/Florida border to Indian Pass Florida
