Tropical Storm Cristobal moved through the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Saturday carrying strong winds and heavy rains that prompted the evacuation of a coastal Louisiana community and dozens of offshore oil platforms. Cristobal, packing winds of 50 miles per hour (85 km), is expected to strengthen somewhat before making landfall late Sunday along the Louisiana coast, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC). Grand Isle, a barrier island on the Louisiana coast, was under a mandatory evacuation, ahead of a storm surge expected to be as much as 2 feet to 4 feet (1.2 meters) in an area between Morgan City, Louisiana, and the mouth of the Mississippi River.
