Tropical Storm Cindy strengthens in Gulf

FORT MYERS, Fla. Tropical Storm Cindy strengthened Tuesday night in the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said.

As of 11 p.m., Cindy had sustained winds of 60 miles per hour, a 15 mph jump from the hurricane center’s 8 p.m. advisory. It’s moving northwest at 7 mph.

It’s forecast to make landfall Thursday morning near the Texas-Louisiana border.

“Mainly this is going to be a rainmaker for parts of the Louisiana and Texas Gulf coast,” WINK Chief meteorologist Jim Farrell said.

Cindy made it somewhat breezy Tuesday in Southwest Florida, but those breezes will be gone by Wednesday, Farrell said.

Tropical Storm Bret, which formed Monday afternoon off the northern coast of South America, degenerated into a tropical wave Tuesday, the National Hurricane center said.

Bret’s remnants are north of the coast of Venezuela.

Below is the forecast cone for Cindy: