(CNN) Much of the central Gulf Coast was under a hurricane warning late Monday as Tropical Storm Gordon, which is expected to strengthen, continued its march from the Florida Keys.

The warning covers all of coastal Mississippi and Alabama, the National Hurricane Center said.

Gordon could be a Category 1 hurricane before it makes landfall as early as Tuesday night. About 2 million people are under a hurricane watch or warning.

Gordon is expected to produce rain accumulations of 4 to 6 inches over southern Alabama, southern and central Mississippi, and southeastern and northeastern Louisiana, with isolated maximum amounts of 8 inches through late Thursday, according to the hurricane center.

Tropical Storm Gordon is expected to get stronger by Tuesday.

By evening, the storm was headed west-northwest at 17 mph into the Gulf of Mexico and had maximum winds of 60 mph.

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