MINDY FORMS IN GULF AS THE 13TH NAMED STORM OF THE SEASON

Meanwhile, tropical storm Mindy has formed in the northern Gulf of Mexico as the 13th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, prompting a tropical storm warning on a section of the Florida panhandle and Big Bend area. Fast-moving (21 mph) Mindy was expected to bring tropical storm conditions to the area by Wednesday night and up to 6 inches of rain across the panhandle and parts of Georgia and South Carolina through Thursday morning. It was also projected to generate a few isolated tornadoes across the panhandle. Elsewhere, in the eastern Pacific, tropical depression 15-E has intensified into tropical storm Olaf 225 miles west/northwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Moving to the northwest, Olaf is expected to pass to the southwest of the Baja California peninsula on Thursday and Friday, prompting a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning for the south end of the peninsula.