Florida Declares Emergency as Tropical Storm Colin Approaches

Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for most of central Florida ahead of Tropical Storm Colin, which was expected to hit the state Monday night.

The storm was forecast to make landfall near the Panhandle area with winds between 40 and 57 mph and could dump up to 4 inches of rain on parts of the state, bringing the risk of flooding and, potentially, tornadoes, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The state of emergency covers 34 Florida counties.

The storm was expected to advance through Florida through Tuesday morning, before moving to Georgia and coastal areas of North and South Carolina.

Tropical Storm Colin will be the third storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.