Tropical Storm Colin barreled toward Florida's Gulf coast Monday moing, as forecasters and elected officials waed residents to prepare for severe weather and possible flooding.

A large portion of Florida's weste and Panhandle coast was already under a tropical storm waing when the National Hurricane Center aounced that a quickly moving depression had become a named storm. The center said it is the earliest that a third named storm has ever formed in the Atlantic basin.

Colin's maximum sustained winds Monday moing had increased to near 50 mph with some slow strengthening possible during the next two days. The storm was centered about 360 miles west-southwest of Tampa and moving north-northeast near 14 mph.

Tropical storms carry wind speeds of between 39 mph and 73 mph.

"It's going to impact most of the state in some way," Gov. Rick Scott said in a phone interview with the Associated Press. "Hopefully we won't have any significant issues here, but we can have some storm surge, some rain, toados and some flooding."

The center of Colin is expected to approach the coast of the Florida Big Bend area Monday afteoon or evening, forecasters said.

Colin is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches and forecasters said up to 8 inches possible across weste Florida, easte Georgia, and coastal areas of the Carolinas through Tuesday.

Scott postponed a political meeting with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump scheduled Monday in New York so he can remain in the state capital to monitor the weather.

It is the latest in a series of severe weather events across the country, from record-breaking heat in the West, flooding in Texas and storms that are expected to cause problems in the nation's capital and mid-Atlantic region.

Scott waed residents not to simply look at the center of the storm, saying the heaviest rain will be to the east and west of it.

The National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama, issued a flood waing for the Shoal River near Crestview and waed of possible widespread flooding in streams, creeks, and canals. Wind gusts threatened to bring down trees and branches and cause power outages.

The Georgia coast and the north Florida Atlantic coast were placed under a tropical storm watch Sunday evening.

Sand bags were being distributed to residents in St. Petersburg, Tampa and nearby cities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.