Tropical storm Cindy moves inland in Louisiana; one dead in Alabama

Tropical storm Cindy moved inland near the Louisiana-Texas border on Thursday morning, bringing heavy rainfall and life-threatening conditions over the northern Gulf Coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm's first fatality was reported on Wednesday, when a 10-year-old boy was struck by a log that a large wave dislodged as he stood near the shore in Fort Morgan, Alabama, the Baldwin County coroner said. [nL1N1JI0MV]

Cindy was about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Lake Charles, Louisiana, with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km/h). It is expected to weaken into a tropical depression later Thursday morning, the Miami-based weather forecaster said.

"Life-threatening" flash flooding was possible as the storm could drop three to six inches (8-15 cm) of rain and as much as 12 inches in some parts of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, the NHC said. Up to eight inches of rainfall was expected in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida through Friday morning.

A storm could cause a surge of up to three feet (1 meter) in isolated areas from southeastern Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle and possibly spawn tornados from the lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valley regions to the central Gulf Coast, the NHC said.

Two tornados were reported about four miles

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)