Cindy is now the third tropical storm of the 2005 hurricane season.
The National Hurricane Center says data from an Air Force reconnaissance plane puts the storm's sustained winds at 40 miles
per hour, just above the tropical storm threshold.
Cindy is in the Gulf of Mexico, more than 250 miles south of the Mississippi River. It's moving north-northwest.
A tropical storm warning is posted from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to Pascagoula, Mississippi. The warned area includes New Orleans. There's a tropical storm watch from east of Pascagoula to Destin, Florida.
Forecasters say the storm's effects could be felt along the Gulf
Coast by tonight.
Another tropical system in the Caribbean also could become a
tropical storm today. It could head toward South Florida by the end
of the week.
