BATON ROUGE — Though Tropcial Storm Sally appears to be veering eastward with Baton Rouge on the fringes of potential impact, the capital area remains under a flash flood watch with officials and residents remaining on alert.

On Saturday, Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in anticipation of Sally, and one day later, East Baton Rouge Mayor-president Sharon Weston Broome also declared a state of emergency for the Parish.

Mayor Broome spoke with WBRZ's Nadeen Abusada, Monday morning regarding measures citizens can take to stay safe during the storm. 

Mayor Broome said, "We're encouraging people to have a three-day supply of all the necessary things they'll need should they have to leave their home."

She also advised that in events such as this, keeping things in perspective by maintaining a calm and logical approach to decision-making would be helpful. "The best way to deal with a crisis or emergency is to stay calm," the mayor said. 

She went on to explain that by declaring a state of emergency, she's positioned the parish to take advantage of necessary resources should they become necessary. Broome said the Mayor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (MOSHEP) will be activated at 2 p.m., Monday. 

Sally was tracking south of Florida's panhandle Sunday evening and is expected to make landfall near the Louisiana-Mississippi border as a Category 1 storm Tuesday.

As a slow moving storm, Sally could produce rain totals up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) by the middle of the week, forecasters said. The system was moving west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph) early Sunday. It was centered 155 miles (250 kilometers) west of Port Charlotte, Florida, and 300 miles (485 kilometers) east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Also of note is a system in the open-Atlantic that is on track to become a powerful hurricane. The National Hurricane Center announced Monday morning, around 4 a.m., that Tropical Storm Teddy, a former depression, has evolved and is expected  to become a powerful hurricane later this week.

WBRZ's meteorologists will continue to monitor Tropical Storms Sally, Teddy, and all activity in the Gulf. Stay current on weather conditions by watching WBRZ and WBRZ + or by following the Weather Team on Twitter and Facebook.