Tropical
Storm Andrea, rolling northeastward toward Florida into Thursday will bring
heavy rain, gusty winds, rough surf and severe thunderstorms. Andrea strengthened a bit overnight. As of
5:00 a.m. EDT Thursday, maximum sustained winds were 60 mph. The storm was
located approximately 195 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola, Fla. While not a major threat to lives and
property, Andrea can cause some damage, sporadic power outages and travel
disruptions. The system will also bring needed rain to parts of Florida and the
South. Downpours could flood some
roadways, while thunderstorms could briefly delay flights. Boaters along the west and east coast of
Florida should exercise extreme caution through the end of the week, due to the
potential for rough seas in unprotected waters.
Severe
Thunderstorm, Tornado Risk
According
to Tropical and Southern Weather Expert Dan Kottlowski, "The system has
the potential to produce a couple of brief tornadoes as it rolls ashore along
the upper west coast of Florida Thursday."
A tornado was spotted early Thursday morning in Myakka City, Fla., which
is about 20 miles east of Sarasota. The tornado caused damage to a house and
knocked down power lines. The risk of
tornadoes, although relatively small with weak tropical systems, would occur
east and northeast of where the storm center makes landfall. Although sustained winds in most cases will
be generally be near or under 40 mph, locally higher gusts can occur in bands
of showers and thunderstorms from the system. Sporadic power outages are
possible as a result of downed tree limbs and wires.
Coastal
Flooding
"The
wind flow along the Florida west coast will be out of the south and southwest
Thursday into Thursday night and can lead to an average water level water rise
of 1 to 3 feet," Kottlowski said. Winds
will be slightly onshore along the Atlantic coast with the system as it moves
along. While such a water rise is
relatively insignificant, it will occur a couple of days ahead of the new moon
when tides are slightly higher to begin with.
Minor coastal flooding is possible, especially around times of high tide
from Florida to North Carolina.
Flooding
Rainfall
The
greatest impact from the system will be heavy rainfall and the potential for
urban and poor drainage area flooding. "The
storm has the potential to bring a swath of 4- to 8-inch rainfall with locally
higher amounts from west-central Florida to northeastern Florida and along the
southern Atlantic coast," Kottlowski said.
It does appear the storm will pick up forward speed rather than stall
like Beryl did during May of 2012. Once
the feature reaches Florida, it will likely stay over or very close to land
along the southern Atlantic coast Friday, practically ending any chance of
strengthening as a tropical system. The
system is forecasted by AccuWeather.com meteorologists to track northeastward
into New England, where it will likely be soon joined by a non-tropical system
moving in from the Midwest.
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist
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