Tropical Storm Cindy claims one life
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tropical Storm Cindy has taken the life of a 10-yearold boy on the Alabama coast. It was the storm’s first known death.
The boy, whose name wasn’t immediately released, was on the beach in Fort Morgan, Ala., when a log that was washed in by storm surge struck him Wednesday morning, authorities said.
Cindy, a sprawling storm whose effects were stretching far beyond its center of circulation, was in the Gulf of Mexico approaching the Louisiana-Texas border on Wednesday afternoon. It was expected to make landfall late Wednesday or Thursday.
Much of the northern Gulf coast, from Houston to the mouth of the Mississippi River, was under a tropical storm warning Wednesday, with Cindy’s maximum winds at 50 mph.
Yet the story of Cindy wasn’t necessarily the wind, but the rain and its potential to cause life-threatening floods, forecasters say.
According to the National Weather Service, flash-flood warnings were in effect from eastern Texas through the western Florida Panhandle. A portion of that area, however, including New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle, was no longer under a tropical storm warning.
Because of the lopsided buildup of moisture on its eastern and northern sides, Cindy’s heaviest rains were expected between southeastern Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle. Significant amounts of rain were expected from western Louisiana to the Houston area.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 4 to 8 inches of rain had fallen on Florida’s western Panhandle, coastal Alabama and Mississippi. An additional 4 to 8 inches, with 10 inches or more possible in some areas, were likely, the National Weather Service said.
Up to 7 inches of rain was possible in isolated areas from western Louisiana to Houston. Tornadoes were also a risk across much of the northern Gulf coast.
Levi Cowan, creator and owner of the popular TropicalTidbits.com website, said Cindy was notable because of its large area of impact.
“It’s bringing heavy rain to every Gulf Coast state,” Cowan said.