Tropical storm Cindy strengthens over central Gulf of Mexico: NHC

(Reuters) - Tropical storm Cindy has strengthened over the central Gulf of Mexico and is expected to produce heavy rainfall that could cause life-threatening flash flooding across portions of the northern Gulf Coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Tuesday. The center of Cindy will approach the coast of southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas late Wednesday, the NHC said, adding tropical storm warning has been extended eastward to the Alabama-Florida border. Cindy, which is located about 305 miles (495 kilometers) southeast of Galveston, Texas with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h), is expected to weaken slightly from Thursday, the Miami-based weather forecaster said. (Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)