South Florida under tornado watch as Tropical Storm Elsa moves along the Gulf Coast
South Florida was put under a tornado watch until 11 p.m. Tuesday as Tropical Storm Elsa moved along the state’s Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rain and winds to the region.
“Main concerns for South Florida from Tropical Storm Elsa remain heavy rain and a few tornadoes,” the National Weather Service said.
It’s also a bad day to be in the water, with dangerous rip currents possible across all Atlantic beaches.
The forecast called for an 80% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms in Miami-Dade and a 70% chance in Broward. Bands of bad weather were expected through the rest of Tuesday into Wednesday morning.
Broward and northern Miami-Dade were under a significant weather advisory through 4:30 p.m. Forecasters warned that the winds could exceed 45 mph and that funnel clouds were possible.
Miami-Dade and Broward counties are not expected to feel tropical storm force winds, and will instead see “on & off outer rain bands” from Elsa that could carry isolated strong gusts and heavy rain, WSVN meteorologist Vivian Gonzalez said Tuesday morning.
Think of it like a breezy day, with winds forecast to be around 25 mph, with gusts as high as 30, possibly 40 if the region gets more of Elsa’s outer bands, according to the weather service.
Heavy rains could also cause flooding in Miami-Dade and Broward, according to the weather service.
As for the Florida Keys, there was a 70% to 90% chance of rain throughout the island chain, with the Lower and Middle Keys under a flood watch until at least 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The Lower and Middle Keys remained under a tropical storm warning Tuesday afternoon, which means tropical storm conditions are possible. At 9:16 a.m., sustained winds of 35 to 47 mph across the Lower Keys have been recorded, said meteorologist Lissette Gonzalez of Miami Herald news partner CBS4.
Forecasters say South Florida’s bad weather will see some improvement late Tuesday and into Wednesday, with rain chances dropping to 30% in Miami-Dade and Broward and 40% in the Keys.
How long will South Florida feel Elsa?
It’s likely that Elsa’s bands will still be felt through at least Wednesday in South Florida.
As of the 5 p.m. National Hurricane Center advisory, Tropical Storm Elsa was about 155 miles south of Tampa. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, with tropical-storm-force winds extending 90 miles from the center.
Elsa is forecast to reach near-hurricane level strength in the next 24 hours and is expected to make landfall south of Cedar Key in the Waccasassa River on Wednesday morning.
From there, the storm’s projected path takes it toward the Ocala National Forest, through Georgia and the Carolinas (where it’s expected to weaken to a depression) before emerging in the Atlantic near Virginia Beach late Thursday night.
Elsa could leave a “trail of moisture” behind, which will likely influence South Florida’s rain chances for the rest of the week, according to the weather service. The forecast is calling for the region to return to its “typical summer pattern of rain,” which means there will be a chance of rain daily, though it won’t be as much as Tuesday.
This story was originally published July 6, 2021 at 10:22 AM.
