Pike County residents should be safe from Tropical Storm Colin, with multiple weather outlets predicting Florida’s western coast to receive most of the impact.

The brunt of the storm will hit east of Panama City, according to Dennis Feltgen, spokesperson for the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Its current trajectory has it hitting the western coast and cutting up through the peninsula, affecting the coastlines of Georgia and the Carolinas before heading back into the Atlantic. Latest reports have the storm sustaining 50mph winds.

Colin is the earliest third named storm on record for the Atlantic hurricane season, preceded by Hurricane Alex in January and Tropical Storm Bonnie on May 24.

Colin is the first storm of the defined hurricane season, as the first two were “preseason storms.” This was the first time since 2012 that two storms occurred in the preseason, and only the third time since 1951. Alex was also significant as it was only the second hurricane to ever form in January, the other being Hurricane One in January 1938.

Despite the oddities of early storms, Feltgen said that early activity is “absolutely not an indicator of what will happen later in the season.”

Feltgen said that 2 to 3 inches of rainfall would be common for the impacted area, with up to 8 inches possible in isolated areas.

The National Hurricane Center is also reporting that there could be a 1 to 2 foot storm surge along the gulf coast that could result in serious flooding.

Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for over half of Florida’s counties, and some counties are offering voluntary evacuation.

The National Weather Service in Birmingham is not forecasting severe weather for any portion of Alabama at this time.

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