Nate weakens to tropical storm along Gulf coast

TROPICAL Storm Nate swept ashore in Mississippi yesterday with strong winds rattling the doors of Biloxi’s many casinos and lashing rain flooding the gambling floors and surrounding highways, although the fast-moving former hurricane was expected to rapidly weaken as it moved inland.

The fourth major storm to strike the United States in less than two months, Nate killed at least 30 people in Central America before entering the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and bearing down on the US South.

It has also shut down most oil and gas production in the Gulf.

Nate follows a succession of big Atlantic hurricanes, Harvey, Irma and Maria, which have devastated areas of the Caribbean and southern US in the last two months.

However, as maximum winds quickly diminished to 110km/h after weakening to a tropical storm early yesterday, Nate appeared to lack the punch of its predecessors.

The storm’s centre would move inland over Mississippi and across the deep south, Tennessee Valley and Central Appalachian Mountains during today, the National Hurricane Centre said.

Before then, storm surges of up to 3.4m on the Mississippi-Alabama border were possible, the NHC said.

Nate made its initial landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River on Saturday evening.

States of emergency were declared in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and parts of Florida.