Elsa nears landfall in Cuba; Tropical storm watches, warnings remain along Florida’s west coast
Miami, Fl (treasurecoast.com)- As of this morning, Tropical Storm Elsa is just over 200 hundred miles southeast of Havana, Cuba–moving northwest at 14 miles an hour with top winds of 65 miles an hour. Governor Ron DeSantis is advising all Floridians to prepare for the impact of Elsa. Parts of the Keys, and the lower Gulf Coast are under a Tropical Storm Warning, while the Gulf Coast from just south of Sarasota to the Big Bend are under a Tropical Storm Watch.
Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie warning of one of the possible impacts of Elsa, now just over 200 hundred miles southeast of Havana, Cuba. It’s moving northwest at 14 miles an hour with top winds of 65 miles an hour. Tropical storm warnings are posted for the Florida Keys and Southwest Florida coast. A tropical storm watch has been issued for the Gulf Coast from just south of Sarasota north to the Big Bend.
The National Hurricane Center says a couple of tornados are possible for south Florida Monday into Tuesday.
Forecasters are also warning on tropical storm conditions in the Florida Keys by Monday night. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area along the west coast of Florida beginning Tuesday.
DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK ---------------------- At 800 AM EDT (1200 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Elsa was located by a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft near latitude 21.4 North, longitude 80.7 West. Elsa is moving toward the northwest near 14 mph (22 km/h) and this general motion is expected to continue today, followed by a turn toward the north-northwest on Tuesday. On the forecast track, Elsa is expected to move across central and western Cuba later today and pass near the Florida Keys early Tuesday. Elsa is then forecast to move near or over portions of the west coast of Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday. Maximum sustained winds remain near 65 mph (100 km/h) with higher gusts. Some strengthening is possible before Elsa moves over Cuba later today, followed by some weakening while the center moves over land. Slight restrengthening is forecast after Elsa moves over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center. The minimum central pressure estimated from Hurricane Hunter observations is 1006 mb (29.71 inches).
