NEWS ITEM
THIS IS A NEWS ITEM ON TROPICAL STORM ELSA ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST OFFICE AT 6AM EDT, WEDNESDAY, 7TH JULY, 2021.
...ELSA MOVING NORTHWARD ALMOST PARALLEL TO THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA......HEAVY RAINS AND GUSTY WINDS CONTINUE SPREADING INLAND ACROSS THE WESTERN FLORIDA PENINSULA...
AT 5:00 AM EDT, THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM ELSA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 28.5° NORTH AND LONGITUDE 83.5° WEST OR 50 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF CEDAR KEY FLORIDA.
ELSA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 14 MPH (22 KM/H), AND A GENERAL NORTHWARD MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST IS EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT, FOLLOWED BY A FASTER NORTHEASTWARD MOTION BY LATE THURSDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK, ELSA WILL MOVE NEAR OR OVER PORTIONS OF THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA THIS MORNING, THEN MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE
NORTH FLORIDA GULF COAST BY LATE THIS MORNING OR THIS AFTERNOON. THE STORM SHOULD THEN MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN AND MID-ATLANTIC UNITED STATES THROUGH THURSDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NOW NEAR 65 MPH (100 KM/H) WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN THE INTENSITY ARE POSSIBLE UNTIL LANDFALL LATER TODAY. WEAKENING WILL BEGIN AFTER ELSA MOVES INLAND.
THE NEXT NEWS ITEM WILL BE ISSUED AT NOON.
PREPARED BY DUTY FORECASTER: S. MATHER
7TH JULY, 2021 @ 5:45 AM
