Multiple states along the Gulf Coast declared a state of emergency in anticipation of Tropical Storm Gordon, which is expected to strengthen and potentially hit the region as a hurricane Tuesday night.
Meteorologists expect the storm to make landfall between Louisiana and Alabama late Tuesday evening into early Wednesday morning, and the governors of Louisiana and Alabama have both declared states of emergency.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said he would deploy 200 National Guard troops to southeastern Louisiana, and Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said he would be utilizing state resources to prepare for the storm.
Schools in the area had closed, and residents rushed to place sand bags in their cars to prepare for flooding. Gordon had also caused oil prices to surge past $70 a barrel after two oil platforms within the Gulf of Mexico had to be evacuated to prepare for the hurricane.
The tropical storm already hit South Florida with high winds and heavy rains on Monday and is expected to turn into a hurricane before it makes landfall in the center of the U.S. Gulf Coast.
A hurricane warning was issued for the area between the Pearl River in Mississippi and the Alabama-Florida border, which could see as much as eight inches of rain by late Thursday.