Florida braces for projected tropical cyclone

A tropical depression forming in the southern Gulf of Mexico is expected to strengthen into a cyclone at some point in the next 24 hours and make landfall on northwestern Florida's coast Monday evening. With it, potential "Tropical Storm Colin" will bring the possibility of heavy rains, tornadoes, and strong winds to the peninsula, meteorologist Fred Johnson told The Orlando Sentinel.

"Those three things will be the biggest threats," Johnson said. "Flooding might also be likely. Right now, we're projecting anywhere from three to six inches of rain."

Wednesday marked the start of the 2016 hurricane season, although there have been several major tropical storms this year including a rare Atlantic hurricane in January and Tropical Storm Bonnie at the end of May. However, "this is a pretty typical storm for the start of the season," Johnson said. "Usually a few smaller storms will start in the Gulf. Then toward the end of the season, we'll see a few more."

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