- Elsa made landfall around 11 a.m. Wednesday in lightly populated Taylor County along Florida's northern Gulf Coast.
- Flash flooding and isolated rain totals up to 5 inches are possible as far north as the New England states.
- Elsa is forecast to move across the southeastern and mid-Atlantic U.S. through Thursday.
After losing some of its punch, Tropical Storm Elsa headed toward the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Wednesday afternoon, less fearsome than before but still packing enough of a wallop to do some damage.
Elsa's maximum sustained winds had diminished from 65 mph to 45 mph as it traveled across Florida, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. EDT update. From its location about 115 miles west-southwest of Brunswick, Georgia, the storm was expected to follow a steady path north and have an impact all the way up the Eastern Seaboard the rest of the week.
Flash flooding and isolated rain totals up to 5 inches are possible as far north as the New England states. Tornadoes may also develop from the southeastern U.S. up to Virginia on Wednesday and Thursday.
"Interests in southeastern New England and the Canadian Maritimes should monitor the progress of Elsa,'' the hurricane center said.
After a slog up the west coast of Florida, Elsa made landfall around 11 a.m. Wednesday in lightly populated Taylor County along the state's northern Gulf Coast, the hurricane center said. Earlier, Key West streets had turned to roaring rivers and Tampa was blasted by high winds and heavy rains.
Authorities in Jacksonville, Florida, said one person was killed Wednesday when a tree fell and struck two cars. The National Weather Service reported 50 mph (80 kph) wind gusts in the city. The tree fell during heavy rains, said Capt. Eric Prosswimmer of the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department. He said no one else was injured.
Off the coast of Key West, the Coast Guard and a good Samaritan boat on Tuesday rescued 13 people who were part of a group of 22 that left Cuba on a boat that capsized in waters churned by the storm. Nine people were still missing.
Elsa, downgraded from hurricane to tropical storm, had been moving almost parallel to the west coast of Florida for the past day or so.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said a "wobble" to the west as the storm approached Tampa helped keep damage to a minimum. No fatalities or serious injuries had been reported so far, he said.
“All things considered, where we looked at 72 hours ago, I think the impacts have been less than what we thought would be reasonable," DeSantis said. “We are fortunate."
DeSantis said there were up to 26,000 customers without power in the Tampa Bay area, most of them in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties.
All tropical storm warnings have been discontinued along the Florida Gulf coast. Much of Central Florida remained under a tornado watch, however, as rain bands and severe thunderstorms associated with Elsa move across the state.
Officials at Tampa International Airport suspended operations late Tuesday, forcing the cancellation of about 200 flights, but resumed them at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday after checking for storm damage. Elsa brought gusts of up to 41 mph overnight.
"The airport did not sustain any damage from the storm," airport officials said in a statement. "TPA’s roadways are clear, and the garages and rental car center are open."
Previously: Elsa regains hurricane status, roars closer to Florida's west coast
The storm complicated the search for potential survivors and victims in the June 24 collapse of a Miami-area building. Despite that challenge, crews continued the search in the rubble of Champlain Towers South in Surfside. The death toll from that tragedy rose to 46 Wednesday.
Elsa should move across the southeastern and mid-Atlantic U.S. through Thursday, said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center in Miami.
A tropical storm watch was issued Wednesday night for southern New England, from New Haven, Connecticut, to Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts – including Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket – and into Long Island.
Elsa became the first hurricane of the season last week, blasting through the Caribbean and leaving three people dead. It calmed somewhat to a tropical storm but regained hurricane status Tuesday for a few hours before returning to a tropical storm.
Spaghetti models: Track Elsa here
Contributing: Diane Pantaleo and Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY Network; The Associated Press
Source link
