The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued its first advisories for a storm system that is likely to strengthen into a hurricane before it hits the Gulf Coast later this week, as Florida’s governor declared an emergency on Monday.
The storm is “expected to intensify while it moves northward over the eastern Gulf of Mexico” and could be a major hurricane, or Category 3 or greater, when it hits the northeastern Gulf Coast by Thursday, the NHC said in a Monday morning advisory.
It’s not clear precisely where the storm will hit, the NHC said, but residents in the Florida Panhandle and the state’s western coast should monitor updates….