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First Tropical Storm Of The Season, Andrea, Forms

MIAMI (AP) -- The first named storm of Atlantic season, Andrea, formed Wednesday over the Gulf of Mexico and was expected to bring wet weather to parts of Florida's west coast by the end of the week.

Forecasters issued a tropical storm warning for a swath of Florida's west coast starting at Boca Grande, an island to the northwest of Fort Myers, and ending at an area along the coast south of Tallahassee.

Andrea had maximum sustained winds near 40 miles per hour as of 6 p.m. It was located about 310 miles southwest of Tampa.

It was moving to the north at about three miles per hour and forecasters expected the storm to continue moving northeast at a faster speed on Thursday.

The center of Andrea was expected to reach Florida's coast on Thursday afternoon, then travel over land and bring foul weather to parts of Georgia and the Carolinas by Friday. Forecasters say Andrea could bring three to six inches of rain to parts of Florida and Georgia, with isolated areas seeing as much as eight inches.

A forecast map predicts the storm will continue along the East Coast through the weekend before heading out to sea again, though a storm's track is often hard to predict days in advance.

A National Hurricane Center advisory also says coastal areas north of Tampa could also see storm surge of several feet.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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