NHC says Tropical Storm Claudette forms off Louisiana

[June 19, 2021]    (Reuters) - Tropical storm Claudette formed in the Atlantic on Saturday and is expected to produce heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding across coastal Mississippi and Alabama through the afternoon, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The storm is located about about 45 miles (75 km) southwest of New Orleans, Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour (75 km/h), the NHC said.

Claudette is expected to weaken to a tropical depression by Saturday night and become a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday, the NHC added.

(Reporting by Nandakumar D in Bengaluru; editing by John Stonestreet)

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