WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall in southeast Louisiana on Sunday, bringing strong winds, heavy rains and the threat of damaging storm surges, the US National Hurricane Center said.
The storm hit at 2200 GMT along the southeast coast of the state, the NHC said, with maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour).
A nearby island off the coast of Mississippi recorded gusts of 64 mph.
US President Donald Trump said he would be signing an emergency declaration for Louisiana, freeing up federal aid.
The NHC issued a storm surge warning — meaning “a danger of life-threatening inundation” — for the area from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, about 90 miles away.
And it issued a tropical storm warning for an area extending to the Florida Panhandle, meaning high winds and heavy rainfall were expected.
The storm is forecast to weaken as it moves north into Arkansas and Missouri on Monday and Tuesday.
Meteorologists have predicted a heavier-than-usual Atlantic hurricane season.
Cristobal’s formation early in the week marked the earliest that the hurricane season has seen its third named storm, US meteorologists said.
Cristobal emerged out of Tropical Storm Amanda, which left at least 26 people dead across Central America and brought flooding and landslides.
Officials consider the Atlantic hurricane season to run from June 1 to November 30.
© Agence France-Presse