Fred strengthens slightly as it heads to U.S. coast

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center said Fred regained its tropical storm status in the Gulf of Mexico early Sunday just hours before Grace was demoted to a tropical depression.

Fred was forecast to move across the Gulf and reach the coast as early as Monday afternoon, forecasters said. They said people from Alabama to the central Florida Panhandle should monitor the system’s progress.

A tropical storm warning is now in effect for the coast of the Florida Panhandle from Navarre tothe Wakulla/Jefferson County line, meaning tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area in the next 24 hours. A tropical storm watch is in effect for the coast of the Florida Panhandle from the Alabama/ Florida border to Navarre. A storm surge warning has been issued for part of Florida’s Big Bend area. That’s the spot on the Gulf Coast where the Florida peninsula turns west into the Panhandle.

Fred’s maximum sustained winds stood at 45 mph Sunday afternoon.

Anticipating Fred, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for the state’s Panhandle region, and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statement Saturday saying her administration was monitoring the weather and “will be ready to act from the state level if needed.”

Fred was located Sunday afternoon about 215 miles south of Panama City, Fla., and moving north-northwest at 10 mph.

Fred had been downgraded to a tropical wave on Saturday. Tropical waves can contain winds and heavy rain but do not circulate around a center point or an “eye” like a tropical storm or hurricane.