Posted on 06/09/2005 11:20:50 AM PDT by varina davis
Arlene Expected to Enter Gulf by Friday
June 09, 2005 12:56 PM EDT
MIAMI - Tropical Storm Arlene developed Thursday in the northwest Caribbean Sea, edging closer to western Cuba as the Atlantic hurricane season's first named storm. Gulf Coast residents, including those in storm-battered Florida, were warned to beware.
Arlene had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph after strengthening from a tropical depression that formed Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Tropical storms have top sustained winds of 39 mph to 74 mph.
At 11 a.m. EDT, the storm's center was about 165 miles south-southeast of the western tip of Cuba. It was moving north at about 8 mph, and this motion could bring the storm's center near western Cuba as early as Thursday night, forecasters said.
The large storm's winds and rain extended 150 miles to the north and east from its poorly organized center, meaning parts of the Florida Keys could start getting rain later Thursday, forecasters said.
Arlene was expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico by Friday, and residents from Florida to Louisiana were told to keep an eye on the tropical storm.
"Our best estimate of the track possibilities are that anywhere from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle could expect the center to be approaching them by the middle of the weekend," hurricane specialist Richard Knabb said.
Forecasters said Arlene was likely to remain a tropical storm, but Navy meteorologist Lt. Dave Roberts said there was an "outside shot" that the system could develop into a weak hurricane, depending on atmospheric conditions.
The Cuban government has issued a tropical storm watch for the western province of Pinar Del Rio to the capital of Havana. A tropical storm warning also was in effect for the Cayman Islands and the Dry Tortugas island grouping, U.S. territory about 70 miles west of Key West.
The depression was causing heavy rain and squalls across the Caymans and western and central Cuba. Forecasters warned that very heavy rain in Nicaragua and Honduras could cause flash floods and mudslides.
The storm could drop as much as 5 to 10 inches of rain, meteorologists said.
Last year, the first named storm of the season was Tropical Storm Alex, which formed Aug. 1. It later became a hurricane and came within 9 miles of the Outer Banks, N.C.
Within weeks, Florida was struck by Hurricane Charley, the first of four hurricanes to hit the state last season. It was followed by hurricanes Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. The four hurricanes damaged one out of every five homes in Florida.
The storms caused about 130 deaths in the U.S. and are blamed for a total $22 billion in insured damage.
Hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.
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On the Net:
National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
Lovely. Just freakin' peachy.
Where are you getting your data? I'm in the FL Panhandle (Navarre), and I'd like to track these bad boys as the season progresses.
New Orleans has been dodging these bullets for decades.... some day that city is going into the ocean.
I purchased my generator last year, I think there are only 3 tax free shopping days left in Florida to purchase certain hurricane items.
I think I'm on the hurricane ping list, but if I'm not, please put me on it!
You are on the list. Are you logged in?
My paw used to say - there is two kinda of folks who predict the weather in Florida..
Darn Fools and Darn Yankees ..
Yep, I live on the W. FL Gulf coast....all the heavy T-storms are to the NE of the center. Florida is going to get hammered with rain again.
go to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov for info and satellite imagery
And when it does, instead of being the Big Easy, it'll become the Big Soup Bowl. Potentially 12-16 feet deep in the downtown area.
The clouds and rain over S and Central Florida appear to be from this system. Unless there is another low floating around out there.
UGH. Just what that area needs.
great. folks are still living in RVs and under tarps and the US and FEMA can't pull us out of last year's storms.
Where is Foley, Alabama in all of this? Our childen just moved there 6 weeks ago.
This one now appears much more organized than earlier.
Foley, AL =
I'm logged in. I was just making sure.
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