Dan Scanlan|Florida Times-Union
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Tropical Storm Elsa is coming, with the first waves of wind and rain Tuesday night, thenworsening Wednesday, Mayor LennyCurry warned with city leaders.
Gathered in theDuval County Emergency Operations Center at noon Tuesday,the mayor said it will be wet andwindy as Wednesday dawns on the city.
"While we are on the edge of the cone and not expecting widespread damage, there is a chance for flash flooding, strong winds, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms," Curry said. "While we are no stranger to these conditions, it is important that everyone is prepared, not just for Elsa, the first named storm to impact us this year, but for the remaining months of hurricane season."
The news conference came as the National Weather Service extended tropical storm warnings into almost all of Clay and Nassau counties as well as the western part of Duval. A flood watch is in effect for all of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia through early Friday with a 100 percent chance of rain Wednesday, accompanied by1 to 2 inches of expected rainfall, the forecast said.That falls to 60 percent Wednesday nightand 50 percentThursday.
No storm shelters are anticipated to be opened Wednesday,Curry said. But all city summer camp and pool programs will be closedwith updates on jaxready.com. All Duval County Public Schools summer student programs also are canceled Wednesday, including camps, summer school and all other extracurricular activities. Updates can be found atdcps.duvalschools.org/dcps.
Curry warned that areas of the city saturated by heavy rains late last week and over the weekendmight see flash flooding because of the tropical storm and storm surges.Elsa could reach hurricane strength when it makes landfall early Wednesday on the Gulf Coast,Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.
“It’s important that Floridians don’t focus on the [forecast]cone,” DeSantis said. “Impacts are expected well outside that area. And if you look at how the storm is, it’s incredibly lopsided to the east. So most of the rainfall is going to be east of the center.”
Elsa remained west of Key West after dowsing it with heavy rain as it passed on Tuesday, heading north toward the Tampa area with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. The storm was expected to move north off the Gulf Coast, causing rain, wind and storm surge as it makes landfall early Wednesday just north of Tampa in the area of Levy and Citrus counties in largely rural North Florida, forecasters said.
Heavy rains are expected along the eastern side of the weather system, which means most of Florida should feel impacts of the storm, DeSantis said during a Tuesday news conference at the state Emergency Operations Center.
The governor expanded his recent state of emergency order to includeBaker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnamand Union counties. Hesaid he did not expectwidespread evacuationsbut warned residents to listen to local emergency officials and expect that power could be out for several days.
At least 6,000 utility workers have been placed on stand-bywhile about 250 members of the Florida National Guard have been called up, DeSantis saying Florida is well-equipped to handle the storm.
“We have the state emergency response team working around the clock,” DeSantis added. “We are going to increase the readiness to a level one. We normally wouldn't do that for a tropical storm. But given the part of the state that this is likely to impact the most, most of those [rural]counties are fiscally constrained counties.”
Curry said public works crews were out all weekend cleaning out storm drains in flood-prone areas, while firefighters and police are coordinating response efforts. Atlantic Beach MayorEllen Glasser said "we are ready" for Elsa's impactand will respond to service calls over the next few days.
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"We are always concerned about the impact of rip currents and being in the water,"she said, warning swimmers to stay out of the ocean and watch for red flags at lifeguard stands, which will be fully staffed.
"Be careful," Glasser said. "Don't be that guy we have to go out and rescue."
Steve Woodard,Emergency Preparedness Division directorfor Jacksonville, warned residents to "watch out." And Sheriff Mike Williams reminded people not to drive through standing water and be aware of traffic lights that are not working. But he did notanticipate having to close anybridges since sustained 40-mph winds are not in the forecast.
National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Boothe said the Jacksonville area should expect rainfallthrough Wednesday, with 24-hour totals ranging from an inch or inch-and-a-half around the city's coastline to 2 to 3 inches around the Suwannee River. Pockets of heavy rain could raise totals in some areas to 4 to 5 inches, he said.
In many places the real problem is that the rain will fall on ground that’s already full of water.Rainfall over much of Northeast Florida has been about four times normal levels during the past two weeks, and it hasn’t drained off yet, a National Weather Service report said.
Forecasters said the St. Marys River near Macclenny is expected to reach a minor flood stage by mid-week. Further west, the Santa Fe River is already at minor flood stage while Clay County's Black Creekwas on weather-watchers’ minds as a possible trouble area too.
Completely separate from Elsa, meteorologists were watching Monday for more rain in parts of Northeast Florida.
“It’s just a recipe for flooding,” Boothe said.
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The Sulzbacher Center will have emergency shelter for the homeless Tuesday and Wednesday nightswith temporary sleeping areas. Women and children seeking shelter can go to the Sulzbacher Village at 5455 Springfield Blvd., with men going to the center's downtown campus at 611 E.Adams St.
With tropical storm-force winds extending outward 70 miles from the center, Key West International Airport measured a wind gust of 48 mphTuesday morning. After expected landfall Wednesday morning in North Florida, the National Hurricane Center anticipates the storm will continue northeast into Georgia and the Carolinas.
Meanwhile,Clay County offeredsandbags Tuesday afternoon at Omega Parkin Middleburg. This wasthe only location offeringsandbags in Clay County, with residents filling their own and limited to 10 per vehicle. Nassau County also provided a similar service to prepare for the storm.
Due to the possible impacts from Elsa, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office's administrative offices will be closed Wednesday, while its deputies will handle normal shifts. The county does not anticipate the need to close its Memorial and Dunns Creek bridges.
Times-Union writer Steve Patterson contributed to this report.
dscanlan@jacksonville.com,(904) 359-4549
