The first tropical system to slam the US this year lashed parts of the Deep South with heavy rains Thursday morning as it spins through the Gulf of Mexico.
More than 4 million people are under flash flood watches from south-central Louisiana to the western Florida panhandle as the system moves over the warm waters, CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.
This isn’t a tropical storm or a hurricane yet: If the system reaches winds of 39 mph, it will officially become Tropical Storm Barry, and it could intensify into a Category 1 hurricane by late Friday.