Tropical storm Fred makes landfall in Florida; Tropical depression Grace could hit U.S too

There are currently three storms sweeping through the Atlantic Basin, two of which could be heading toward the U.S..

Published: August 16, 2021 11:59am

Updated: August 16, 2021 5:53pm

Tropical Storm Fred made landfall Monday in Florida, slamming into the state's panhandle region with roughly 60 mph winds and driving rain.

The storm made landfall at 2:15 p.m. ET, causing widespread power outages and flooding in Panama City and Lynn Haven.

Over 20,000 Florida homes and businesses were without power Monday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.

The National Hurricane Center predicts the storm will bring similar conditions to southern Alabama and parts of Georgia by late Monday afternoon or early evening, according to USA Today.

"We’ve certainly been in a lot worse than this, but that’s no reason to be complacent,” said Florida’s Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said before the storm made landfall. "The less people out on the road, the better. We do expect some heavy rain from this storm."

There have been no evacuations ordered, schools or offices closed in preparation for the storm.

Heavy rainfall will sweep across parts of the South in addition to some hitting Virginia and mid-Atlantic states, USA Today also reports.

Tropical Depression Grace, the second storm potentially hitting part of the U.S., was spotted near Puerto Rico on Monday, but is also expected to swerve towards Mexico, after having started in Haiti.