Tropical Storm Gordon hit the Gulf Coast late Tuesday night, packing heavy winds and rain, and claiming the life of a child who was killed when a tree fell onto his family’s home in the Florida Panhandle.
The National Hurricane Center said early Wednesday that Gordon has weakened to a tropical depression over central Mississippi.
The storm’s maximum-sustained winds clocked in at 70 mph, with gusts up to 80 mph.
The system is expected to continue to cause problems as it moves inland, with the threat of tornadoes and flash flooding across the south and Midwest over the next several days.
Forecasters say the storm could dump a foot or more of rain before the remnants of Gordon are finished pushing through Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Arkansas, Missouri, southern Iowa and Illinois also are expected to get heavy rains as Gordon moves inland.
The National Weather Service in Mobile said Wednesday morning that Pensacola got 8 inches of rainfall.
Meanwhile, utility firms say more than 24,000 customers in Alabama and Mississippi remain without power following the landfall of Tropical Storm Gordon.
Alabama Power says 13,700 customers in the greater Mobile area remained without power late Wednesday morning. More than 48,000 customers lost power at some point during the storm.
In Mississippi, emergency officials say about 11,000 are without power statewide.
