An Air Force Hurricane Hunter plane found the storm’s winds had reached 75 miles per hour, just over the threshold for a Category 1 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm is expected to make landfall late Thursday or early Friday.
It would be the first hurricane to hit Florida since Wilma struck the Gulf coast and swept across South Florida in 2005. The storm will generate a “life-threatening” storm surge as it approaches land, the hurricane center said.
South Florida will see no impact since the storm has shifted north, removing the danger of flooding or high winds, according to the National Weather Service ’s briefing Thursday morning.
Florida alerts: The hurricane center posted hurricane warnings for the part of the Gulf coast under threat, which includes the Suwannee River west to Mexico Beach. A hurricane watch has been issued from just north of Tampa to the Panhandle city of Destin. A tropical storm warning has been issued from the Anclote River to the Walton and Bay county lines. Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency to include 51 counties north of Lake Okeechobee.
Location: About 175 miles west of Tampa.
Movement/strength: North-northeast at 14 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
Details: Tropical-force winds extend 185 miles from the center. Tropical storm or hurricane force winds are expected to reach the Gulf Coast by Thursday afternoon. A storm surge of 1 to 8 feet is expected, depending on the area. The storm is expected to produce 5 to 10 inches of rain, with isolated areas seeing up to 20 inches.
Other systems: Hurricane Gaston is spinning in the open waters of the Atlantic with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. A tropical storm warning has been issued for Flores and Corvo in the western Azores.
What was Tropical Depression Eight dissipated early Thursday, according to the hurricane center.
A broad area of low pressure, associated with a tropical wave, is located over the far eastern Atlantic, still some 2,500 miles from South Florida, and is being given a zero percent chance of formation during the next two days and a 30 percent chance of developing over the next five days.
———
©2016 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
