HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Tropical Storm Fred made landfall earlier this afternoon in the Florida Peninsula. Fred's eye passed directly over Cape San Blas, FL, about 25 miles west of Apalachicola, FL, at 2:15 PM this Monday afternoon. Maximum sustained winds at landfall were estimated to be around 65 MPH, which is 9 MPH short of being a category one hurricane.
Through Thursday, heavy rainfall may lead to considerable flash, urban, small stream, and isolated river flooding impacts across portions of the Florida Big Bend and Panhandle. By the middle of the week as Fred lifts north and inland, heavy rainfall and flooding will impact the southern and central Appalachians, the Piedmont of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Landslides are possible across the mountains of North Carolina and Blue Ridge Escarpment on Tuesday.
Dangerous storm surge inundation is ongoing along portions of the coast of the Florida Panhandle and the Florida Big Bend region. Tropical storm conditions will continue along the coastline within the warning area over the next few hours and will continue to spread farther inland later today and tonight across portions of the Florida Panhandle, southwestern Georgia, and southeastern Alabama.