Lamont Pepp, höger, vinkar till en förbipasserande bilist att sakta ner efter att Pepps bil stannade i högt vatten på Gause Boulevard i Slidell sent på fredagen, 18 juni, 2021, som en tropisk störning närmade sig Louisianas kust. Den tropiska stormen Claudette har bildats på lördagsmorgonen längs den amerikanska Gulf Coast, medför kraftiga regn och översvämningar till kuststater inklusive Louisiana, Mississippi och Alabama. Kredit:Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP
Myndigheterna i Alabama säger att en misstänkt tromb ansporad av den tropiska stormen Claudette förstörde eller skadade minst 50 hem i en liten stad strax norr om Floridas gräns.
Sheriff Heath Jackson i Escambia County sa att en misstänkt tornado "i stort sett jämnade ut" en husbilspark, välte träd på hus och slet av taket på ett gym på gymnasiet. De flesta av skadorna skedde i eller nära städerna Brewton och East Brewton, cirka 48 miles (77 kilometer) norr om Pensacola, Florida.
"Det påverkade typ alla, "Jackson sa. "Men med dessa husbilar som byggs så nära varandra kan det ta en vägtull på dem mycket mer än vad det kan på hus som är utspridda."
Det fanns inga omedelbara rapporter om allvarliga skador eller dödsfall. Bilder från Brewton-området som delas på Facebook visar välta träd, inklusive en som landade på ett hus, samt en lång sträcka av skräp som en lokal nyhetsbutik sa var från en svårt skadad trailerpark.
Skador från stormen kändes också i norra Florida, där vindar – i vissa fall nådde 85 mph (137 kmph) – fick en 18-hjuling att välta på sidan.
National Hurricane Center förklarade att Claudette var tillräckligt organiserad för att kvalificera sig som en namngiven storm klockan 4 på lördagen, långt efter att stormens cirkulationscentrum hade kommit i land sydväst om New Orleans.
Bilister navigerar på en översvämmad Gause Boulevard i Slidell, La., sen fredag, 18 juni, 2021, som en tropisk störning närmade sig Louisianas kust. Den tropiska stormen Claudette har bildats på lördagsmorgonen längs den amerikanska Gulf Coast, medför kraftiga regn och översvämningar till kuststater inklusive Louisiana, Mississippi och Alabama. Kredit:Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP
På lördag kväll, Claudette var en tropisk depression belägen 45 miles (75 kilometer) västnordväst om Montgomery, Alabama, med ihållande vindar på 30 mph (45 kmph). Den rörde sig nordost med 22 km/h. Det mesta av det tunga vädret inträffade långt norr och öster om centrum.
Tidigt på lördag, stormen dumpade översvämningsregn norr om Lake Pontchartrain i Louisiana och längs Mississippi-kusten, översvämmande gator och, i vissa områden, trycka in vatten i hemmen. Senare, stormen dränkte Florida Panhandle och, väl inne i landet, ett brett område av Alabama. National Weather Service varnade för möjliga tornados i norra Florida och södra Alabama.
Delar av Mississippi och Georgiens inland fick också kraftiga regn från Claudette. Och även om stormen höll på att försvagas, National Hurricane Center utfärdade en tropisk stormvakt för delar av North Carolinas kust, som kunde känna av effekterna på söndag kväll. Stormen förväntades gå över i Atlanten på måndag, och återfå tropisk stormstyrka över öppet vatten på tisdag.
Denna GOES-16 GeoColor satellitbild tagen i fredags, 18 juni, 2021, kl. 11 EDT, och tillhandahålls av NOAA, visar ett tropiskt vädersystem i Mexikanska golfen. Tjänstemän beordrade ett sluss- och låssystem stängt i sydöstra Louisiana och förberedde sandsäckar i Mississippi och Alabama som en bred, oorganiserat tropiskt vädersystem började snurra band av regn och frisk vind över den norra Mexikanska golfens kust på fredagen. Kredit:NOAA via AP
Invånare i Pace, Florida, ringde 911 för att rapportera en eventuell twister som slet taken av två hem och skadade minst tre andra.
"Ingen är skadad, sa Sarah Whitfield, talesman för Santa Rosa County, där Floridas hem skadades. "Vi är bara tacksamma att det hände efter soluppgången, "inte över natten när folk sov.
En 18-hjuling träffade flera bruksstolpar och vände på sidan under stormen tidigt på lördagen. Debris from the accident, including a collapsed utility pole, turned into projectiles and struck a passing SUV, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Highway Patrol officials were to close both lanes of the Interstate 10 bridge between Escambia and Santa Rosa counties due to high winds.
The county received two calls about trees falling onto homes, but no one was home at the time.
Clouds from Tropical Storm Claudette form on Highway 90 Beaches in Pass Christian, Fröken., Fredag, 18 juni, 2021. City of Pass Christian has declared state of emergency for potential severe weather. Credit:Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP
The storm left tens of thousands without power and some flights were being canceled or delayed at Pensacola International Airport.
"We have a lot of visitors that are here vacationing, " Escambia County spokesperson Laura Coale said. "Red flags flying out at the beaches so there's absolutely no swimming."
Forecasters said Claudette could dump 5 to 10 inches (12 to 25 centimeters) of rain in the region, with isolated accumulations of 15 inches (38 centimeters) possible.
Residents of Slidell, Louisiana, north of Lake Pontchartrain, reported flooded streets and water in some neighborhoods as the storm pushed onshore overnight. Slidell police said the flooding had largely receded by daybreak, after swamping as many as 50 cars and trucks with water.
Most people riding out the storm still had electricity when they woke up Saturday morning. The website poweroutage.us reported roughly 22, 000 outages total across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Residents in low-lying areas of Hancock County move their vehicles, lawn mowers, ATVs and boats to higher ground in Waveland, Fröken., as a tropical system approaches Friday, 18 juni, 2021. Forecasters predict a tropical system will bring heavy rain, storm surge and coastal flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The poorly organized disturbance was located Friday morning about 255 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana. Credit:Justin Mitchell/The Sun Herald via AP
The storm struck on a weekend when many on the Gulf Coast planned to celebrate Juneteenth and Father's Day.
Business owners across the Gulf Coast, from restaurateurs to swamp boat operators, had anticipated an influx of tourist cash after a year of lost revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"My biggest concern is that it drives away a busy weekend, and may just end up being a lot of rain, " Austin Sumrall, the owner and chef at the White Pillars Restaurant and Lounge in Biloxi, Mississippi, sa fredagen.
He had 170 reservations on his books for Sunday, but was concerned some patrons would cancel.
"We saw, especially last year, the rug can get jerked out from under you pretty quickly, " han sa.
I Louisiana, the threat came a month after spring storms and flooding that were blamed for five deaths, and as parts of the state continued a slow recovery from a brutal 2020 hurricane season.
Motorists navigate a flooded Gause Boulevard in Slidell, La., late Friday, 18 juni, 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Credit:Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP
A man takes a photo of waves crashing into what once was a dock for a ferry that transported people from Bay St. Louis to Pass Christian, Fröken., as a tropical system moves toward the Mississippi Coast on Friday, 18 juni, 2021. Forecasters predict a tropical system will bring heavy rain, storm surge and coastal flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The poorly organized disturbance was located Friday morning about 255 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana. Credit:Justin Mitchell/The Sun Herald via AP
Motorists navigate a flooded Gause Boulevard in Slidell, La., late Friday, 18 juni, 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Credit:Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP
A flooded neighborhood is seen after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through in Slidell, La., lördag, 19 juni, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Danny Gonzales, höger, stands in front of his flooded house with his neighbor Bob Neal, upset with power company trucks driving though the flooded neighborhood pushing water back into his home, after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., lördag, 19 juni, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Marina Kingsmill and her brother Raylan play in the flooded street in front of their home after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through in Slidell, La., lördag, 19 juni, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Marina Kingsmill and her brother Raylan play in the flooded street in front of their home after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through in Slidell, La., lördag, 19 juni, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Cal Kingsmill, Jr., and his wife Jessie Kingsmill, point out crickets to their children Marina, 8, and Raylan, 8, in the receding floodwater in front of their home, after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., lördag, 19 juni, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Jessie Kingsmill points out crickets to her daughter Marina, 8, in the receding floodwater in front of their home, after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., lördag, 19 juni, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
A car stops in front of neighborhood flooding after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., lördag, 19 juni, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Jessie Kingsmill stands in her driveway with her children Marina, 8, höger, and Raylan, 8, as water recedes after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., lördag, 19 juni, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Marina Kingsmill and her brother Raylan play in the flooded street in front of their home after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through in Slidell, La., lördag, 19 juni, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans.Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Danny Gonzales, walks in his flooded house as water recedes, after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., lördag, 19 juni, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans.Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Separat, Tropical Storm Dolores made landfall on Mexico's west coast with near-hurricane force. As of Saturday night, it was a depression located about 140 miles (225 kilometers) north-northwest of Guadalajara, Mexiko. Its maximum sustained winds were clocked at 30 mph (45 kph), and it was moving north at 21 mph (33 kph).
Heavy rainfall of 6 to 10 inches (about 15 to 25 centimeters) was expected across the southwest and western coastal areas of Mexico throughout the weekend. Forecasters were warning of the potential for flash flooding and mudslides.
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