Sally expected to reach hurricane strength
Another dangerous storm off the western coast of Florida gained strength on Sunday.
Meteorologists expected Tropical Storm Sally to reach hurricane strength soon, bringing dangerous conditions to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Sally was expected to approach the north-central Gulf Coast late on Monday and Tuesday.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards:
"We have really good reason to be very concerned about this storm, particularly because it is going to be a very slow-moving storm... We ask people to pay attention to the weather, pay attention to local news broadcasts, pay attention to your local elected officials and heed warnings."
As of Sunday, Sally was heading west-northwest of Florida with top sustained winds of 50 miles per hour, packing 11-foot storm surges and rainfall of up to 12 inches.
Oil companies evacuated staff from some offshore platforms over the weekend as Sally reached warm Gulf of Mexico waters.
The storm follows Laura, which rampaged across the Gulf of Mexico three weeks ago and grew into a Category 4 hurricane, leveling coastal Louisiana towns and leaving residents of Louisiana and Texas without power for weeks.
Further off in the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Paulette was moving closer to Bermuda, and was expected to move near or over the island on Monday morning.
