Remnants of Fred enter lower Gulf, expected to restrengthen

This satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows a Tropical Storm Fred in the Caribbean as it passes south of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic at 8am EST, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES via AP)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Remnants of Fred entered the lower Gulf of Mexico late Saturday amid forecasts it would regain tropical storm strength Sunday as it moves toward the northern U.S. Gulf Coast.

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Grace, which formed Saturday morning in the Atlantic, was slightly weaker by nightfall and showing signs of poor organization as it kicked up sea squalls off the island of Guadeloupe. Grace was forecast to be nearer to South Florida by mid-week.

Forecasters said the disorganized remnants of former Tropical Storm Fred passed by the Florida Keys on Saturday and then moved into the southeast Gulf of Mexico later in the day.

At 11 p.m. EDT, Fred's remnants were about 205 kilometres west-northwest of Havana and moving west-northwest at 15 kph. It had top sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph). It also was about 855 kilometres south-southeast of Mobile, Alabama.

Forecasters said Fred would regenerate into a tropical storm on Sunday and urged people from Mississippi to the central Florida Panhandle to begin monitoring the storm's progress.

Fred is expected to bring heavy rain to the Southeastern U.S. by Monday but is not projected to reach hurricane strength.

Anticipating Fred, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had already declared a state of emergency for the state's Panhandle region. In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statement Saturday that her administration is monitoring the storm and "will be ready to act from the state level if needed."

Meanwhile, a tropical storm warning in effect earlier for the Florida Keys was canceled Saturday as the storm began moving into the Gulf. All told, Fred was expected to bring 7.5 to 12.5 centimetres of rain to the Keys and southern Florida through Monday.

A tropical storm earlier in the week, Fred weakened to a depression by its spin over Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where it knocked out power to some 400,000 customers and caused flooding that forced officials to shut part of the country's aqueduct system, interrupting water service for hundreds of thousands of people. Local officials reported hundreds of people were evacuated and some buildings were damaged.

On Saturday, Fred was downgraded to a tropical wave with top winds around 55 kph. Tropical waves can contain winds and heavy rain, but do not circulate around a center point or an "eye" that a tropical storm or hurricane has.

Both Fred and Grace, regardless of their storm status, posed a heavy rain and flood threat, forecasters said.

Grace was forecast to bring 7.5 to 15 centimetres of rain to the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico into Tuesday.

At 11 p.m. EDT, Grace was centered 275 kilometres east-southeast of St. Croix, and 430 kilometres east-southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was moving west-northwest at 31 kph with top sustained winds of 65 kph.

Grace prompted a tropical storm warning for several islands and territories, including Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

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Rodriguez reported from Havana.