Gordon aims to hit Gulf Coast as hurricane after nightfall
Mitchell Nugent paddles a board toward waves near Crystal Beach as Tropical Storm Gordon churns the Gulf of Mexico in Destub, Fla., Tuesday Sept. 4, 2018. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News / Associated Press)
Children play in the sand on Crystal Beach as waves from Tropical Storm Gordon churn the Gulf of Mexico in Destin, Fla., Tuesday Sept. 4, 2018. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News / Associated Press)
A woman uses a beach umbrella to stay dry as she crosses Scenic Highway 98 in Miramar Beach, Fla., Tuesday Sept. 4, 2018, as Tropical Storm Gordon makes its way past the Florida Panhandle. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News / Associated Press)
A car drives through a road as flood waters come in from Tropical Storm Gordon on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018 in Dauphin Island, Ala. (Dan Anderson / Associated Press)
A car drives through a road as it slowly begins to flood as Tropical Storm Gordon approaches on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Dauphin Island, Ala. (Dan Anderson / Associated Press)
Kamdn Boose, 4, helps his family fill sandbags at Long Beach Harbor, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Long Beach, Miss., in advance of Tropical Storm Gordon, which is continuing to strengthen and is expected to become a hurricane late Tuesday when it hits the central U.S. Gulf Coast, including coastal Mississippi. (Amanda McCoy/The Sun Herald / Associated Press)
Coastal residents from Florida to Louisiana hustled to prepare for a deluge as Tropical Storm Gordon grew stronger on a path to hit the central U.S. Gulf Coast as a hurricane Tuesday night.