STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Tropical Storm Barry is now just 60 miles offshore from the Florida Panhandle, and is due to strike land at, we think, about 4:00 a.m. local time. Standing in the path of the storm is CNN's Ed Lavandera, who's joining us live from for Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Ed, good evening again.</s>ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Stephen. For the last several days the 135,000 people that live in the Fort Walton Beach area and along this coast have been hearing about Tropical Storm Barry, and Tropical Storm Barry is about to make its debut here on this stretch of the Gulf Coast, along the northern Florida -- northern coast of Florida. Emergency crews have issued evacuation advisories. And what that means is that people are just being told to be alert about the amount of rain that will be following here in the next couple of hours, and just be ready to move at a moment's notice. These are not mandatory evacuations in this area. Further East past Panama City and Franklin County, the barrier islands that are closest to the Gulf of Mexico, those islands -- those areas have been evacuated, but that is all. Here in the Fort Walton Beach area, two shelters have been set up this evening for folks who want to move to higher ground and move a little bit further inland. We haven't seen a lot of boarding-up of businesses and windows throughout the storm. Quite frankly, a lot of people have spent the day walking the shorelines here in Fort Walton Beach, and enjoying the last moments before the storm was coming ashore. So a lot of people taking this with stride, just waiting to see exactly how much fury Tropical Storm Barry will bring -- Stephen.</s>FRAZIER: Ed, we will talk to you as it progresses. Thanks for that update. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Tropical Storm Barry to Touch Land in Early Morning