Fay Sets Course for Florida Panhandle

Tropical Storm Fay is heading west across Florida, having pummeled the southern part of the state with flooding from 20-inch rainfalls and soaked areas farther north, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Authorities have linked the storm to the deaths of six Floridians, including a 21-year-old woman who drowned while swimming in the Atlantic, which has experienced unusually strong undertows related to Fay.

The five other victims of the storm drowned, died in car accidents or suffered carbon monoxide poisoning while stuck in their homes with emergency generators. Fay is expected to batter North Florida over the weekend and then move on, so officials are hopeful that the state primary election Tuesday won’t have to be postponed. (More Tropical Storm Fay stories.)