Author Topic: Tropical Storm Rita heads toward southern Florida, South  (Read 64 times)

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Tropical Storm Rita heads toward southern Florida, South
« on: September 19, 2005, 07:20:16 AM »
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/19/tropical.weather/index.html

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT18/refresh/AL1805W5+gif/032506W_sm.gif  :o



MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Approaching Tropical Storm Rita prompted officials to issue a mandatory evacuation order Monday for all residents of the Florida Keys.

Forecasters expect Rita to strengthen into a hurricane as it churns toward the Keys and the Bahamas.

At 11 a.m. ET, Rita's center was about 195 miles southeast of the Bahamian capital, Nassau, moving west-northwest at nearly 12 mph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported. Maximum sustained winds were clocked near 65 mph.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the Exumas and for Andros Island in the Bahamas and in Florida from Golden Beach southward to Florida City and westward to East Cape Sable. The warning also includes the Keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas.(Watch preparations for Rita in Florida Keys -- 1:07)

About 11:30 a.m. Monday, Monroe County Sheriff's Office and the county Office of Emergency Management expanded an earlier evacuation order for the lower Keys to include the entire island chain.

Tourists were told to leave on Sunday. There are about 80,000 residents of Monroe County, which includes about 27,000 residents of Key West.

Rita could become a Category 1 storm in the next 24 hours, the center said. Category 1 hurricanes have winds of 74-95 mph.

In Key West, Mayor Jimmy Weekley said Monday that although tourists already had been ordered to leave, residents might not be so willing to follow.

"Conch is a mussel and it's a very tough mussel," Weekley said. "So, a lot of the old Conchs here, as Key Westers are known, will not evacuate at all, they will stay and ride the storm out, for various reasons."

National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield said Monday that people in some areas still recovering from Hurricane Katrina should be watching Rita. (Watch the video of where Rita might be heading -- 2:23)

"This is definitely becoming a concern for the northwestern Gulf of Mexico," Mayfield said. He said the storm could threaten Texas and Louisiana within five days.

"What will determine the steering there is this high pressure system that currently is anchored over Louisiana and Texas -- but with time that's forecast to erode and move to the east and that may let Rita turn up more towards the north. So at this point in time the folks in Texas and even the Louisiana coast need to monitor this very carefully."

President Bush: 'Deep concern'

As recovery efforts from Katrina continued along the Gulf Coast, the possibility of another storm prompted reaction from President Bush.

"There is deep concern about this storm causing more flooding in New Orleans," Bush told reporters Monday during a Homeland Security council meeting.

Rita is the 17th named storm of this year's Atlantic hurricane season, and with water temperatures in the Florida Straits in the high 80s, it has plenty of fuel.

Forecasters predicted the storm would move over the eastern and central Bahamas on Monday.

In the Bahamas, Earnel Brown, manager of the Baycaner Beach Resort, told The Associated Press that few people on Mayaguana Island had bothered to board their windows or stock up on emergency supplies.

"I don't expect that much trouble," Brown told the AP. "I don't think we're going to have that much damage from it."
'Rita on the rocks, to go!'

Key West streets were quiet Monday morning as Mike Pettengill, 54, packed his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the AP reported. A resident of Stuart, he hoped to beat the rain and traffic heading north and wanted to be able to find gas before stations close or run dry.

"We walked by a bar [Sunday] and heard there was an evacuation. We were totally shocked. I couldn't believe it. Where did it come from?" he said.

Kelly Friend and two workers were boarding up her store in Key West, Audio Video in Paradise Inc., according to the AP. They painted a message on the plywood: "Hey bartender 1 Rita on the rocks to go!"

"Not that we're afraid of the hurricane, but we want to protect our investment," Friend said. "Plus it gives us an excuse to take a day off and drink."

Florida was sending a National Guard cargo plane to evacuate 22 patients from Key West's hospital to Sebring, near Lake Okeechobee, the AP reported. Several critically ill patients already had been evacuated to hospitals in Miami.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency Sunday, activating National Guard troops, authorizing the use of public buildings as shelters and invoking state laws against price-gouging.

A storm surge of up to 8 feet is forecast for the Keys. The storm surge could reach up to 5 feet in extreme southeastern Florida and the northwestern Bahamas.

In Cuba, the hurricane center issued a hurricane warning for the provinces of Villa Clara and Matanzas. A hurricane watch is in effect for the provinces of Ciudad de Habana, La Habana and Pinar Del Rio. A tropical storm watch is in effect for the provinces of Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos.

Rita is the third tropical system to emerge from the Atlantic in two weeks. Tropical Storm Philippe was upgraded to a hurricane Sunday night, while Tropical Storm Ophelia was fading into the North Atlantic as it chugged northward off Newfoundland.

At 11 a.m. ET, Hurricane Philippe had top winds of 75 mph. It was centered about 365 miles east of the Leeward Islands, moving north-northwest at about 7 mph. That track was expected to hold for the next 24 hours, the hurricane center reported.

« Last Edit: September 19, 2005, 09:56:31 AM by K A I N »