Hurricane Delta bearing down on Gulf Coast

ALBANY — As one of the busiest tropical seasons on record continues, Hurricane Delta is making its way toward the Gulf of Mexico with the potential to bring damaging winds and flooding when it makes landfall later this week.

The storm is strengthening as it moves through the Caribbean Sea toward Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula, the National Weather Service in Tallahassee announced on Tuesday. Delta is expected to make landfall on Friday night or Saturday morning along the north-central Gulf Coast.

“While it is too soon to determine the magnitude of the impacts across our local area, there is a risk of heavy rainfall across portions of the Florida panhandle and southeast Alabama where rivers are still running above normal from last month’s heavy rainfall,” the agency said.

If the storm strikes farther to the east, local effects could increase “significantly” with an increase of gusting winds and possible tornadoes, while a more westerly course would be less damaging.

However, based on the current predictions, the threat of heavy rain and widespread flooding remains low, the agency said.

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