Tropical Storm Warnings Issued for Florida’s Gulf Coast

Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the southwest coast of the Florida peninsula, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has said. The NHC upgraded a tropical wave known as Invest 97L to “Potential Tropical Cyclone Four” at 11 a.m. EDT on Aug. 2, as it issued its first advisory on the weather disturbance that is expected to become a tropical storm over the next two days. Tropical storm warnings, indicating tropical storm conditions are expected in the warning area within 36 hours, are now in effect for a stretch of southwest Florida from East Cape Sable to Bonita Beach. A tropical storm watch, indicating possible tropical storm conditions in the watch area generally within 48 hours, is in effect for the lower Florida Keys south of the Card Sound Bridge, Dry Tortugas National Park, and the Florida coast north of Bonita Beach to Aripeka. The watch area includes Tampa Bay, Port Charlotte, and Ft. Myers....