Bottom Line Up Front: 

Potential Tropical Cyclone #9 is forecast to be a major hurricane before making landfall along the northeast Gulf Coast. Hurricane Watches have been issued for the Florida Big Bend with Tropical Storm Watches issued for the eastern Florida Panhandle. A Storm Surge Watch has been issued along the coast from Indian Pass over to the Suwannee River. Also, a Flood Watch is now in effect for the entire area from Wednesday night through at least 8am EDT/7am CDT Friday. 

Overview:

Potential Tropical Cyclone #9 is forecast to become a major hurricane before making landfall along the northeast Gulf Coast. The potential for significant, potentially catastrophic, impacts is increasing across the region and impacts are possible as early as Wednesday night and could last into Friday. Impacts include:

•     Dangerous, life-threatening storm surge for Apalachee Bay
•     Potentially catastrophic wind damage possible near the eventual landfall point and along the track inland.
•     Strong, damaging winds further away from the center due to the storm's size.
•     Localized flash flooding, potentially locally considerable
•     Minor to possibly moderate river flooding
•     Extremely dangerous beach/boating conditions.