Tropical Storm Colin Barrels into Florida

Tropical Storm Colin, the third named storm of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season, made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on Monday. It slammed the northern part of the Sunshine state with heavy rain and sustained winds measured up to 50 mph.

According to the NWS, more than 10 inches of rain fell in the Tallahassee area and Gainesville posted its second wettest June day on record with 5.65 inches of rain reported. All this precipitation in such a short period of time caused widespread flash flooding. Storm surge flooding was also an issue for communities along the state’s Gulf Coast.

The storm, according to FEMA officials, downed trees and knocked out power to more than 45,000 people between Tampa Bay and Jacksonville.

Traveling across Florida, the storm transitioned to a “post-tropical” cyclone on Tuesday as it moved up the east coast and out to sea.

Colin was the first named storm to hit the Sunshine state since Andrea in 2013. It was also the earliest “C” storm on record to form in the Atlantic Basin.

Tropical Storm Colin over the Gulf of Mexico at 12:20 ET June 6, 2016. Credit: NASA

Tropical Storm Colin over the Gulf of Mexico on June 6, 2016. Credit: NASA