Tropical Storm Mindy makes landfall on Florida Panhandle

Associated Press
Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021 7:22 p.m. | Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021 7:22 p.m.

This satellite image taken Wednesday and provided by NOAA, shows Tropical Storm Mindy as it makes landfall on the Florida Panhandle.

MIAMI — A swath of the Florida Panhandle was under a tropical storm warning after Tropical Storm Mindy made landfall Wednesday night.

The storm touched down over St. Vincent Island, about 10 miles west southwest of Apalachicola, according to the National Hurricane Center.

BREAKING: #Mindy has formed and tropical storm warnings have been issued for parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Tune to The Weather Channel for continuing coverage. https://t.co/wfWwfqLgNh pic.twitter.com/ysZzjOeDiR

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) September 8, 2021

Mindy could cause as much as 6 inches of rainfall across the Florida Panhandle and portions of southern Georgia and South Carolina through Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. Scattered flash, urban, and small-stream floods are possible.

Located just 25 miles offshore and moving northeast at 21 mph, Tropical Storm #Mindy is nearing landfall on Florida's Panhandle this evening. Flash flood warnings are in effect for the Panama City Beach area #FLwx pic.twitter.com/FgAMFhoTEA

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) September 9, 2021

Mindy’s arrival occurred only a few hours after it had strengthened into a tropical storm Wednesday evening. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and was moving northeast at 21 mph, forecasters said.

The tropical storm warning is in effect from Mexico Beach, Fla., to the Steinhatchee River to the east. That area is about 300 miles east of southern Louisiana, where Hurricane Ida made landfall late last month. The region is still recovering from the deadly and destructive Category 4 storm.

And just like that, we have Tropical Storm #Mindy. It will continue to bring heavy rain to portions of the southeast over the next day or so. Flash flooding remains the biggest concern for the Florida panhandle, southern Georgia and southern South Carolina. pic.twitter.com/AiprzAXAcZ

— Jessica Pash (@JessicaPashWX) September 8, 2021

Mindy is the 13th-named storm of what has been another busy Atlantic hurricane season. According to a tweet from Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach, the average date for the 13-named storm from 1991-2020 was Oct. 24.