Tropical Storm Moving Toward Gulf Coast

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Gordon, which has pounded South Florida with heavy rain, is moving toward the Gulf Coast states, the National Hurricane Center said early Tuesday.

It is not expected to directly effect weather in the Upstate.

Gordon strengthened over the course of the day on Monday and is now threatening the Florida Panhandle and the Alabama coast with rain, wind and waves.

Forecasters expect the storm to continue to gain strength, and said Gordon will probably be a hurricane by the time it makes landfall along the central Gulf Coast.

Early Tuesday, the storm was 280 miles east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Storm surge, tropical storm and hurricane warnings are in effect for parts of the region.

"A hurricane warning has been issued from the mouth of the Pearl River to the Alabama-Florida border," the National Hurricane Center said in its latest update. "This warning replaces the hurricane Watch and tropical storm warning for this area."