MIAMI (AP) — Gov. Kay Ivey has declared a state of emergency in Alabama as Hurricane Michael takes aim at Gulf coast.

Ivey signed the emergency declaration Monday in anticipation of wide-spread power outages, wind damage and heavy rain associated with the storm.

The hurricane, currently off Cuba’s western tip, is expected to make landfall on the Florida panhandle and affect portions of southern Alabama. Some southern Alabama counties were under a tropical storm watch Monday afternoon. High surf warnings were in effect already at the Alabama coast.

The governor’s office cautioned that flash flooding and tornadoes are possible with any hurricane.

A hurricane warning was issued from the Alabama-Florida border eastward to Suwannee River.

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