<p>Tropical Storm Arlene plodded toward the northern Gulf Coast early Saturday, making weather-weary residents even more nervous knowing they were under a hurricane warning.</p><p>The warning stretched from Pascagoula, Miss., to Destin in the central Florida Panhandle, and inland communities also braced for a hit. By early Saturday sustained winds of 46 mph _ with one gust of 69 mph _ were recorded near Apalachicola, Fla., on the Panhandle's southern tip.</p><p>At 5 a.m. EDT, the storm _ becoming somewhat less organized, forecasters said _ was 170 miles south-southeast of Mobile, Ala., and meandering toward the northwest at 18 mph.</p><p>"This motion should bring the center of Arlene near or over the northern Gulf Coast later today or tonight," Jack Beven, a specialist with the National Hurricane Center, said early Saturday.</p><p>Forecasters said Arlene could build into a Category 1 storm by landfall, with its heaviest winds and rains east of the storm's center.</p><p>Hurricane conditions exist when a storm has sustained winds of at least 74 mph or dangerously high water or both. Arlene had sustained winds of 70 mph.</p><p>Tropical storm warnings remained posted from Destin to Steinhatchee along the north Florida coast _ communities separated by nearly 200 miles. Flash flood watches were issued for parts of northwest Florida, southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama.</p><p>Much of the Panhandle received heavy rain early Saturday, and forecasters said 5-foot storm surges and up to 7 inches of precipitation were possible _ making flooding the primary concern.</p><p>"It's certainly going to bring a lot of rain to places that have already had a lot of rain," said Gov. Jeb Bush, who declared a state of emergency Friday.</p><p>Arlene moved northward Friday through the Gulf of Mexico, drenching western Cuba and causing heavy rain, gusty winds and rough seas in South Florida. A Russian exchange student died after she was pulled from the rolling waves off Miami Beach early Friday, officials said.</p><p>Severe weather concerns were not limited to just those areas in Arlene's direct path. A tornado watch was issued for a huge swath of the Gulf region, stretching from 50 miles south-southwest of Orlando, Fla., to 45 miles northwest of Dothan, Ala. The tornadoes could be accompanied by thunder, lightning, half-inch hail and 70 mph gusts.</p><p>Plus, drenching rains were expected over much of the peninsula throughout the day.</p><p>But the worst fears were in the Panhandle, still reeling from Hurricane Ivan nine months ago. Piles of debris, gutted homes and storm-damaged roofs covered by plastic blue tarps are vivid reminders of Ivan's wrath.</p><p>"I was pretty shocked to see how bad it still was," said tourist Roddy Rogers, 46, of Springfield, Mo. "I've been in third-world countries and it looks kind of like that in some places."</p><p>At the Islander Package and Lounge in Pensacola Beach, a sign read, "Here we go again."</p><p>Officials urged people in low-lying areas of three Panhandle counties to evacuate. People flocked to hardware stores to buy generators, flashlights and other hurricane supplies. At least six shelters opened, although officials in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties said only a few dozen people checked in by early Saturday.</p><p>Escambia County's voluntary evacuation included parts of Pensacola and covered up to 50,000 people. Santa Rosa and Walton County also asked for evacuations in flood-prone areas but had no estimates of how many people they covered.</p><p>The evacuation requests include mobile homes, manufactured housing and travel trailers such as those provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Ivan victims waiting for homes to be repaired or rebuilt.</p><p>Retiree Tommy Clardy, 62, and his wife, Sharon, 51, gathered things from their travel trailer on the empty Pensacola Beach lot where they plan to build a home. They said stores were out tie-downs for the trailer.</p><p>"Hopefully, if it's not more than 55 miles an hour or 60, it wouldn't take it away," said Tommy Clardy, who planned to ride out the storm in a nearby rented townhouse.</p><p>David Johanson, a retired engineer, said he was only "reasonably sure" the FEMA trailer parked in front of his damaged Pensacola Beach home would survive a direct hit from Arlene.</p><p>"If that thing goes over," Johanson, 72, said, "I'm not going to be in it."</p><p>The hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.</p><p>Last year, the first storm of the season, Alex, didn't form until Aug. 1. Two weeks later, Florida was hit by the first of four hurricanes in the space of a few weeks. They caused about 130 deaths in the U.S. and $22 billion in insured wind damage.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cdf154)</p>
