Tropical storm Ernesto hits Florida by Kaye Forster
Tropical storm Ernesto surprised forecasters on Tuesday by failing to strengthen as it came ashore on Florida’s southern tip. The storm made landfall with wind speeds of just 45 mph making it a weak tropical storm. Ernesto was initially forecast to strengthen slightly to a strong tropical storm or a weak hurricane as it left Cuba and headed across the warm waters of the Florida Straits.
The storm first hit the Florida Keys, about 60 miles southwest of Miami, late on Tuesday night before reaching the Peninsula during the early hours of Wednesday morning.
As the threat of the wind dissipated, rainfall totals became the biggest concern. Forecasters have predicted that up to 10 inches (250mm) of rain could fall in some places before the storm moves away, heightening the risk of flooding. Thousands of sandbags were quickly distributed in the low-lying Miami suburbs. However, the heavy rain has come as good news for some. After a period of hot and dry conditions in south-eastern parts of the US, the ground has become very dry, the streams are low and the reservoir levels are down.
Luckily the storm was not as ferocious as first predicted and as one resident explains:
‘Compared to what it could have been, we are very fortunate’
However, just one year on from the catastrophic hurricane Katrina, the government ensured they were prepared. The state has over 500 National Guard members and 500 state law enforcement officers on standby in the region, should the situation deteriorate.
Ernesto is now expected to move north across Florida, depositing torrential rain over the next 24 hours. It is expected to weaken to a tropical depression during this time but there is still the potential for the storm to strengthen again as it heads into the Atlantic. The forecast track of Ernesto is to then continue on a northwest path and head towards the Carolinas.
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