Publication Date June 6, 2016 | Reuters

Tropical Storm Colin barrels toward Florida; emergency declared in many counties

United States
A NASA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) image shows the Tropical Storm Colin over Florida and the U.S. South-East coast in this satellite image released by on June 6, 2016. Image: GOES Project Science/NASA/Handout via Reuters
A NASA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) image shows the Tropical Storm Colin over Florida and the U.S. South-East coast in this satellite image released by on June 6, 2016. Image: GOES Project Science/NASA/Handout via Reuters

Tropical Storm Colin lashed Florida with bands of thunderstorms, floods and 50 mile-per-hour winds as it headed through the Gulf of Mexico toward the state's northwest coast on Monday, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency in dozens of counties.

The storm, about 165 miles (265 km) from the Florida coast as of 2 p.m. (1800 GMT), was forecast to dump as much as 8 inches (20 cm) of rain in some parts of the state. The combination of the storm surge and high tides threatened to bring flooding to coastal areas from Florida up through North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said