MIAMI, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- A tropical depression has formed over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and is likely to become a tropical storm, the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday.
At 11 p.m. EDT, the depression was located about 245 miles south-southeast of Apalachicola, Fla., and about 360 miles east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving toward the northwest at 5 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, forecasters in Miami said.
The hurricane center issued a tropical storm warning for the northern Gulf of Mexico from Destin, Fla., to Intracoastal City, La., including Lake Pontchartrain and New Orleans.
The depression -- which is expected to become a tropical storm Wednesday -- was projected to take a gradual turn toward the northwest and gain forward speed Wednesday. On its forecast track, the center of the tropical cyclone was expected to approach the north-central gulf late Wednesday or early Thursday, forecasters said.
Rain accumulations of 3 to 5 inches are possible along the northern and northeastern Gulf Coast, with 8 to 10 inches possible in some areas, the hurricane center said.
A storm surge is likely to raise water levels by as much as 2 to 4 feet above ground level along the coast near where the storm's center makes landfall.
