This image provided by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Karen taken late Thursday night Oct. 3, 2013.
Tropical Storm Karen is expected to pound into the U.S. Gulf Coast Saturday morning, with winds of around 70 mph and heavy rainfall. The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch for the area between Grand Isle, La., to west of Destin, Fl. Eighteen counties in Florida, as well as the entire of Louisiana State, have been put under a state of emergency.
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In order to provide assistance to people in distress, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has recalled workers who were furloughed due to the government shutdown.
The storm can be tracked here.
[CNN]