Tropical Storm Elsa is heading towards Florida and hurricane warning has sounded: winds are approaching 100 km / h

The weather in South Florida began to deteriorate Tuesday morning as Tropical Storm Elsa approached the Florida Keys.. I know activated hurricane alert for stretches of the state’s west coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In addition to strong winds and heavy rains, there are danger of lightning surges, floods and tornadoes. A hurricane watch has been issued for the Florida coast from Egmont Key to the Steinhatchee River.

5 to 8 inches (127 to 203 millimeters) of rain is forecast for the Keys and the southwest and western Florida peninsula. The center predicted there could be tornadoes in the south on Tuesday morning and in the peninsula in the hours that follow.

Governor Ron DeSantis expanded the state of emergency in a dozen counties in the area where Elsa’s passage is expected on Wednesday, and the president Joe biden approved a declaration of emergency for the state.

We expected that rain bands arrive at Surfside on Florida’s Atlantic coast, soaking the rubble of the South Champlain Towers, which collapsed on June 24, killing at least 28 people and leaving 117 missing. Search and rescue teams have worked in the rain, but must stop when lightning threatens, and a garage area in the hardened debris already filled with water on Monday, authorities said.

Elsa’s maximum sustained winds reached 95 km / h (60 mph) early Tuesday morning. Its gradual strengthening is expected on Tuesday night and Elsa could gain near hurricane force before making landfall in Florida. His eye was 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Key West and 435 kilometers (270 miles) south of Tampa. It was moving north-northwest at 19 km / h (12 mph).

Meteorologists predicted that Elsa would reach the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina after Florida. The coast of Georgia was under tropical storm watch, as was the coast of South Carolina from the mouth of the St. Marys River to the South Santee River. Meteorologists said tornadoes could hit eastern Carolina and Virginia as Elsa moves north.

Storm surge could reach 1.5 meters over normally dry land in Tampa Bay area if Elsa passes at high tide, forecasters said. Commander Col. Ben Jonsson said only essential personnel were allowed Tuesday morning at MacDill Air Force Base, located along the bay on the southern Tampa Peninsula.

Elsa’s westward drift prevented the lower Florida Keys from taking a direct hit, but the islands were still receiving a lot of rain and wind on Tuesday. Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the Florida Keys from Craig Key west to the Dry Tortugas and for the west coast of Florida from Flamingo north to the Ochlockonee River.

Marguerite Pedroza, who lives on a boat off Key West, said WPLG that a stronger storm would have forced her to land, but she was resisting it. “Just close the hatches and get ready”, he told the TV channel.

“It doesn’t seem as strong as some of the other storms that have happened, so hopefully the winds won’t be so strong and maybe there will be rain, but hopefully it won’t rain a lot, ”he said.

Passage to Cuba without damage

Cuban authorities evacuated 180,000 people due to the possibility of heavy flooding by a storm that has already hit several Caribbean islands, killing at least three people. But Elsa spent Sunday and much of Monday sweeping parallel to Cuba’s southern coast, preventing much of the island from being seriously affected.

Made landfall in Cuba near Cienega de Zapata, a natural park with few inhabitants, and crossed the island east of Havana. Rain in parts of Cuba on Tuesday is expected to reach 10 inches (25 centimeters) with isolated highs of 15 inches (38 centimeters), resulting in flash floods and major landslides. But there were no initial reports of serious damage to the island.

Tropical storm conditions continued in central and western Cuba on Tuesday morning, even as the storm reached Florida.

Elsa was the first hurricane of the Atlantic season until Saturday morning and caused widespread damage to several eastern Caribbean islands on Friday. As a tropical storm, it caused death of a person in Saint Lucia and a 15-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman in the Dominican Republic.

Elsa is the fifth-oldest storm on record, said Brian McNoldy, hurricane researcher at the University of Miami.

(With AP information)

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