Bonnie Edges Closer; Charlie Becomes Hurricane

HOUSTON -- Hurricane warnings and watches were issued Wednesday as Tropical Storm Bonnie strengthened and churned closer to the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico, while Tropical Storm Charley grew into a hurricane.

Video

Galveston Officials Step Up Emergency Management Procedures TEAM COVERAGE: Bonnie Stirs Up Tropical Trouble Tropical Storm Bonnie Threatens Gulf Coast

The center of Tropical Storm Bonnie was located near 28.4 north and 87.5 west, or about 175 miles west-southwest of Apalachicola, Fla., at 4 a.m. CDT Thursday.

Bonnie is moving toward the northeast at 16 mph with 50 mph winds.

A hurricane warning was issued Wednesday afternoon from Destin, Fla. to the mouth of the Suwannee River.

A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning are in effect for the western Florida Panhandle from Destin, Fla. to the Alabama-Florida border.

Bonnie is expected to make landfall along the Florida Panhandle on Thursday morning.

"I think we are on the lucky side of the Gulf," Local 2 meteorologist Wes Hohenstein said. "There's not one, but two storms in consecutive days to head to the eastern Gulf of Mexico -- both of them on Florida."

"Bonnie continues to strengthen and has finally made that turn to the northeast that we had been waiting for," he said.

Storm Builds Into Hurricane Charley

Tropical Storm Charley turned into Hurricane Charley as it headed toward the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday.

Charley was located near 18.6 north and 79.9 west, or about 100 miles east-southeast of Grand Cayman, at 4 a.m. CDT Thursday.

The storm is moving toward the west-northwest at 16 mph with maximum winds reaching 85 mph.

A gradual turn toward the northwest is expected during the next 24 hours. On this track, the center will be passing near or over the Cayman Islands on Thursday.

A hurricane warning was issued for Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

A hurricane watch was issued for western Cuba Wednesday morning.

A hurricane watch remains in effect for the Florida Keys from Dry Tortugas to Craig Key.

"Charlie is expected to hit the southwestern coast of Florida sometime on Friday," Hohenstein said.

Officials said rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches are likely with the storm.

For the latest coordinates on both storms, visit www.nhc.noaa.gov.

Hurricane Information:

Click2Houston Hurricane Section
National Hurricane Center
City Of Galveston
Galveston County Emergency Management
Harris County Emergency Management
National Weather Service: Houston and Galveston Information

Interactives:

All About Hurricanes
Atlantic Tracker

Weather Information:

• Click2Weather.com
• 7-Day Forecast
• Doppler 2000 Plus Radar
• Animated Doppler 2000 Plus Loop
• Weather Net
• National Maps
• Severe Weather Alerts
Monitor Approaching Storms With Premium Weather
• Sign Up For WeatherBug -- Weather On Your Desktop

Road Condition Information:

• Houston TranStar Real-Time Traffic Map


• Traffic Pulse Real-Time Traffic Map


• Traffic Section


• Houston Transtar


• Texas Dept. of Transportation Web site or call (800) 452-9292