Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Colin bears down on the state's west coast where it will strike today before crossing into the Atlantic to menace Georgia and South Carolina.
Flood and flash flood warnings stretch from North Carolina to Florida where as much as 13cm of rain will fall across a large area, the US Weather Prediction Centre said. Some areas could get as much as 20cm and evacuations are possible, the National Weather Service said.
The storm is forecast to strike near Florida's Big Bend region, the marshy coast that extends from Indian Pass to Englewood, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said in an advisory. Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas platforms off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas are out of the storm's path. Orange juice futures jumped to the highest in more than two years as Colin is expected to reduce the Florida crop.
"Due to the displacement of the strong winds and heavy rainfall from the centre of Colin, it is important to not focus on the exact forecast track," Daniel Brown, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane centre in Miami. "Heavy rainfall, strong winds, and coastal flooding will begin affecting portions of the Florida Peninsula well in advance of the centre's nearing the coast."
Scott declared a state of emergency across the central and northern part of the state. Franklin County told residents in low lying areas and in mobile homes they should leave before the storm arrives.