- Florida may experience landing Tropical Storms Fred and Grace within days.
- Fred is expected to make landfall in the West Florida Panhandle on Monday afternoon or evening.
- Grace may hit parts of the southeastern United States with heavy rain and strong winds by the end of the week.
A tropical storm warning was in effect Sunday for most of the Florida Panhandle as remnants Fred captured the coast and Grace She threatened to follow suit later in the week.
Fred, who regained tropical storm status early Sunday, could erupt parts of the obelisk with up to a foot of rain and possibly hurricanes on Monday and Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. And grace could be worse.
“Indications are that Grace is tracking a little further north than Fred, so places like the United States … can handle greater impacts compared to Fred,” AccuWeather Adam Doty, chief meteorologist, warned.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds reached 50 mph, according to an advisory issued at 11 p.m. EDT from the National Hurricane Center. On Sunday afternoon, Fred was located about 200 miles south of Panama City, Florida, and was moving north-northwest at 9 mph.
On the forecast path, the meteorological service said, the system is expected to cross the Gulf of Mexico and land in the western Florida Panhandle on Monday afternoon or Monday evening.
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A storm surge warning was in effect for parts of the obelisk. Jack Bevin, chief hurricane specialist, urged local residents to follow evacuation and other instructions from local authorities.
“This is a life-threatening situation,” Bevin said. “Take all necessary measures to protect life and property from rising waters and the possibility of other dangerous conditions.”
Governor Ron DeSantis has issued a state of emergency for 23 of Florida’s 67 counties. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said authorities in her state were also monitoring the storm and encouraged residents to “be aware of the weather.”
“Fred’s current projected trajectory includes Alabama,” she said. “We are monitoring this storm closely as the outlook evolves and will be ready to act from the state level if needed.”
Fred cruised through the Caribbean as a tropical storm earlier in the week before weakening into depression. It rolled over the Dominican Republic and Haiti, knocking out power to 400,000 homes and businesses before Then a massive earthquake shook Haiti.
The floods forced the Dominican authorities to shut down part of the canal system, cutting water service to hundreds of thousands of people. Local officials said hundreds of people were evacuated and some buildings were damaged.
As Fred continued her run, Grace was downgraded to a tropical depression as maximum sustained winds dropped to 35 mph, below the 39 mph threshold for a tropical storm. It was located 260 miles east-southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Tropical storm warnings for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have been suspended. A tropical storm watch has been released for Haiti. The storm was moving west at 15 miles per hour.
Losses will be high: Magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes Haiti
The storm will exacerbate problems in Haiti, which is still reeling from the 7.2-magnitude earthquake early Saturday, which devastated buildings, killed more than 700 people and injured at least 2,800. Even before the earthquake, hospitals in the country of 11 million people were struggling with the coronavirus pandemic and lacking resources to deal with it.
Dottie said Grace could hit parts of the southeastern United States with heavy rain and strong winds by the end of the week if it keeps its order.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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