Elsa Could Reach Hurricane Strength Before Landfall In Florida

ACROSS FLORIDA — Gov. Ron DeSantis said storm surge is going to be the major concern as Tropical Storm Elsa affects the Gulf Coast.

Joined by forecasters and emergency operations managers, DeSantis held a briefing Tuesday morning as the storm headed north, and is expected to dump heavy rain and buffet the western coast of Florida with strong winds.

“Now, storm surge will be a concern," DeSantis said. "There is a storm surge warning in effect for 12 counties between Taylor and Lee on the Gulf Coast and that obviously may impact some folks who live in those low-lying areas.”

There are tropical storm warnings in 22 counties along Florida's west coast and a hurricane watch is now in effect from Pinellas County to Dixie County.

The National Hurricane Center is Miami is predicting storm surge to be 3 to 5 feet higher than high tide along the coast, including Tampa Bay.

Elsa is currently about 55 miles west of Key West and is forecast to make landfall along the north Florida Gulf coast on Wednesday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph with higher gusts. A slow strengthening is forecast through tonight, and Elsa could be near hurricane strength before it makes landfall in Florida, according to the hurricane center. Tropical storm-force winds extend 70 miles from the storm's center.

"Elsa is expected to be near hurricane strength tonight prior to making landfall in Florida," said DeSantis.

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The Key West International Airport recently measured a peak sustained wind of 43 mph gusting to 59 mph.

Florida Director of Emergency Management Kevin Guthrie, who had been in Surfside overseeing the condo collapse recovery efforts, is now back in Tallahassee heading up storm preparations.
He said about 6,000 utility workers are on standby in case of power outages, and a contingency of Florida National Guardsmen has been activated as well.

“As a part of the governor’s initial roll-out, we did call up about 200 Florida National Guardsmen, maybe about 250, but, we do have them on standby. The majority of them are at our logistical staging center down in Orlando helping to push commodities out of that warehouse,” said Guthrie.

He said he called the emergency managers in every county under a watch or warning to see if they have any special needs or concerns. He said some counties have requested extra personnel and items such as bottled water.

At this point, DeSantis said he didn't anticipate any widespread evacuations but warned residents to beware of flash flooding from heavy rainfall Tuesday.

"It (Elsa) will track parallel to the Gulf coast of Florida today with strong wind gusts and heavy rains along with the potential for isolated tornadoes," DeSantis said.

The hurricane center is predicting 2 to 4 inches of rainfall along most of the west coast with up to 6 inches in some areas.

"It's important that Floridians don't focus on the cone," DeSantis said. "Impacts are expected well outside that area. And if you look at how the storm is, it's incredibly lopsided toward the east so most of the rainfall is going to be east of the center of the storm."

At 11 a.m., Elsa was moving at about 10 mph north-northwest, but a northward turn is expected later today, according to the National Hurricane Center. Elsa will continue to pass near the Florida Keys this morning, and move near or over portions of the west coast of Florida later today through tonight.

DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 27 counties prior to Tropical Storm Elsa making landfall. They include Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Alachua, Columbia, Dixie, Franklin, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lake, Lafayette, Madison, Marion, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla counties.

Individual counties and cities has set up sandbag distribution sites and opened evacuation shelters.

See related stories:

• Tropical Storm Elsa Could Bring 3-5 Feet Of Surge To Gulf Coast
• Tropical Storm Warning Issued For Tampa Bay As TS Elsa Nears
• Track Of Tropical Storm Elsa Could Impact Florida's West Coast
• Coast Guard Declares Port Condition Whiskey For Port Of Tampa
• State Of Emergency Declared For 15 Counties Ahead Of TS Elsa
• Tampa Bay Under Tropical Storm Watch As TS Elsa Moves Closer