The story in brief
Florida Politics reports that Gov. Ron DeSantis declared an emergency across 25 North Florida counties as Tropical Depression Nine approaches. The National Weather Service expects the system to reach tropical storm strength early Wednesday and says it could become a hurricane Thursday. Forecast risks include rainfall of up to nine inches, flooding, strong winds, storm surge and tornadoes. State response teams are preparing supplies in Tallahassee and the Santa Rosa area for deployment to affected communities.