A storm warning has been issued in parts of the Florida panhandle as tropical storm Mindy has formed in the northeastern regions of the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, according to US media reports citing the National Hurricane Center.

The tropical storm warning has been issued for areas that fall between Florida’s Mexico Beach and Steinhatchee River to the east. The area houses about 55,000 people, according to a CNN report.

By Thursday morning, Mindy could cause about 6 inches of rainfall in the Flordia panhandle, according to media reports. Regions of Georgia and South Carolina are also expected to receive rains. 

The National Hurricane Center warned that flash, urban and small stream floods are possible.

The storm on Wednesday evening was about 90 miles (145 kilometers) west-southwest of Apalachicola, Florida, and moving northeast at 21 mph (34 mph) with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph), according to Associated Press reports citing forecasters.

Mindy is the 13th named storm of what has been another busy Atlantic hurricane season. According to a tweet from Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach, the average date for the 13-named storm from 1991-2020 was October 24.  

The new tropical storm emerges as the dust has started to settle on the southern coast of the United States as it recovers from heavy loss of life and infrastructure caused by category 4 hurricane Ida.

Thousands of people in Louisiana remain with power and a regular supply of clean drinking water more than a week after Hurricane Ida made landfall. 

Hurricane Ida made landfall in the state of Louisiana a few weeks back and has already claimed 26 lives so far. The remnants of Hurricane Ida have caused dozens of deaths in the eastern state of the country including New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.