Miami – Tropical Storm Arlene drenched Cuba today, and then, strengthening and quickening, moved north toward the U.S. Gulf Coast – a region still recovering from last year’s hurricanes.
Forecasters said Arlene, the Atlantic hurricane season’s first named tropical storm, could become a weak hurricane before hitting the Deep South late Saturday, with the worst weather east of the storm’s center.
Arlene was then expected to move along the Mississippi-Alabama line, possibly reaching Tennessee by Sunday afternoon.
Tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches were posted from Florida to Louisiana for Arlene, which had top sustained winds of 60 mph, up from 45 mph earlier in the day.
That speed was likely to increase, but forecasters said the biggest impact would be heavy rain that arrives ahead of the storm’s center.
The downpour that landed on Havana and the rest of western Cuba as Arlene passed the island’s westernmost tip early today was welcome relief from the island’s severe drought.
Flooding was possible, meteorologists said, and some schools were closed, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.
Southern and central Florida could see tornadoes today and more than 7 inches of rain by midday Saturday. Beach erosion was also possible, with coastal storm surge flooding of 2 to 4 feet above normal tide levels.
“This is going to be a major rainfall event before and ahead of the storm,” said Trisha Wallace, a hurricane center meteorologist.
At 5 p.m. EDT, Arlene’s poorly defined center was about 345
miles south-southeast of Pensacola. The storm was moving north at
about 17 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Wind and rain
extended 150 miles to the north and east from the storm’s center.
Ahead of the storm, steady rainfall and squalls began to hit
Florida.
Gov. Jeb Bush told reporters in Jacksonville that the state and
its residents were prepared, saying he was encouraged by sales of generators and hurricane-related materials.
“This is a good sign that people are taking this very
seriously,” Bush said.
The tropical storm warning stretched along the northern Gulf Coast from Grand Isle, La., to St. Marks, Fla., including New Orleans. The hurricane watch went from the mouth of the Pearl River to Panama City, Fla.
A tropical storm warning was also in effect for the Dry Tortugas, a cluster of islands about 70 miles west of Key West that are a U.S. national park.
A warning means storm conditions are expected within 24 hours. A watch means they are possible, generally within 36 hours.
The Panhandle was battered last year by Ivan, one of the four hurricanes to strike Florida in the space of a few weeks. State meteorologist Ben Nelson warned coastal residents that flooding patterns could be different now “because the dunes, the offshore structures, have been changed around by Ivan.” Hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Besides Ivan, Florida was struck by Charley, Frances and Jeanne. The storms caused about 130 deaths in the United States and are blamed for $22 billion in insured damage.
