CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:
A Hurricane Warning is now in effect for metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.
A Storm Surge Warning is now in effect east of the Alabama/Florida border to the Okaloosa/Walton County Line.
A Tropical Storm Warning is now in effect east of the Alabama/Florida border to the Okaloosa/Walton County Line.
At 400 PM CDT (2100 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Nate was located near latitude 20.3 North, longitude 85.7 West. Nate is moving toward the north-northwest near 21 mph (33 km/h) and this motion is expected to continue through Saturday, with a turn toward the north and northeast expected Saturday night and Sunday. On the forecast track, the center of Nate will move near or over the northeastern coast of the Yucatan peninsula this evening. Nate will then move into the southern Gulf of Mexico tonight, approach the northern Gulf coast Saturday, and then move make landfall over the northern Gulf coast Saturday night or Sunday.
Reports from NOAA buoy 42056, located just north and east of the center, indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 36 hours, and Nate is expected to become a hurricane by the time it reaches the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles (205 km) mainly to the east of the center. NOAA buoy 42056 recently reported a 1-minute average wind of 56 mph (91 km/h) and a wind gust of 69 mph (111 km/h).