Tropical Storm Mindy nearing landfall on Florida Panhandle

Experts say hurricanes are getting stronger for several reasons

Nasty hurricanes that cause billions of dollars in damage are hitting more often.

MIAMI - A swath of the Florida Panhandle was under a tropical storm warning as Tropical Storm Mindy neared landfall Wednesday night.

Mindy could cause as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) 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.

Satellite image of Mindy

The storm on Wednesday night was about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west-southwest of Apalachicola, Florida, and moving northeast at 21 mph (34 mph) with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph), forecasters said.

The tropical storm warning is in effect from Mexico Beach, Florida, to the Steinhatchee River to the east. That area is about 300 miles (500 kilometers) 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.

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.