The New Orleans metro area is no longer under a tropical storm watch as of the 4 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center on Subtropical Storm Alberto.
That watch now starts east of the mouth of the Pearl River, as does a storm surge watch that originally includes areas east of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
With Alberto's forecast track coming into focus, tropical storm warnings are now in effect for the northern Gulf Coast from the Mississippi/Alabama state line along the Florida Panhandle to the Aucilla River.
Alberto is expected to continue moving northward to north-northeastward through tonight, then turn north-northwestward on Sunday before slowing down a bit. This slowdown could give Alberto time to slowly strengthen and take on tropical storm characteristics.
It could be a strong tropical storm with winds of 65 miles per hour before landfall Monday afternoon close to the Alabama/Florida state line.