Heavy rain was pouring across much of the Florida peninsula early Thursday as Tropical Storm Andrea headed toward Florida's peninsula. Tropical storm warnings were in effect from Boca Grande to Indian Pass on Florida's coast and along the east coast up to Virginia.  Maximum sustained winds were 60 mph. Landfall is expected in Florida's Big Bend area Thursday. It was not expected to strengthen into a hurricane.

The first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Andrea, formed Wednesday in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to bring heavy rain to the western coast of Florida's peninsula. Tropical storm warnings were issued from Boca Grande to the Big Bend area. Andrea had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, and could make landfall on Thursday afternoon.

Hundreds of anglers and fishing enthusiasts gathered in Navarre last weekend for the inaugural Navarre Fishing Rodeo. And while the fish were being reeled in, the community was netting an economic and social impact even beyond what organizers had hoped. In all, there were more than 125 paid entries at the first-year event and more than 30 entries in the free Junior divisions. To read more, subscribe online or pick up a copy of the June 13 Navarre Press.

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The buzz around town is it’s going to be a busy tourism season, maybe the biggest ever.  “The season,” as it’s commonly known, kicked off Memorial Day and will run through Labor Day weekend. While the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council won’t have statistics based on collected bed taxes to release until July, Santa Rosa County has begun tracking the number of vehicles crossing the Navarre Beach Bridge. According to information provided by the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council, the number of vehicles crossing the Navarre Beach Bridge was between 15,400 and just under 17,000 during the long weekend. 

Due to the approach of a low pressure system in the southern Gulf of Mexico (Investigation 91), Gulf Islands National Seashore will close Fort Pickens Area to all public use effective 4:30 pm on Wednesday, June 5.  All visitors and campers currently at Fort Pickens will be asked to leave and return to the mainland areas. 

When announcing this closure, Superintendent Daniel R. Brown said, "With this weather approaching and the associated wind and high tides, we anticipate that low lying sections of the Fort Pickens Road will end up being overwashed and covered with sand.  We want to make sure that visitors and staff do not end up being trapped and unable to leave should the road become impassable.”  The park will begin removing any sand from the Fort Pickens Road after the storm has passed and staff have an opportunity to mitigate any hazards resulting from the storm. 

Fort Barrancas will be open Thursday- Sunday,  June 6-9, so that visitors may enjoy an alternate site while Fort Pickens is closed.

For additional information, contact park headquarters at (850) 934-2600 in Florida or (228) 230-4100 in Mississippi, or visit the National Seashore website at www.nps.gov/guis.

OCSO Investigators are trying to identify and make contact with the individual in a home surveillance video to see if he can provide any information that may help in the death investigation of Misty Medrano. The 30-year old Medrano was found deceased around 7 a.m. the morning of April 14th in the waters of Rocky Bayou Bay, near the area at the end of 11th Street in Niceville. Investigators want to find out if the man in the video driving the light-colored pick-up truck, who may have been fishing or kayacking in that area the evening before, saw or heard anything that could benefit the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office at (850) 609-2000 or Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 863-TIPS. Autopsy results on Medrano are still awaiting toxicology analysis.
Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o81B-hWNyg