Live update: Elsa may Florida as a hurricane. Manatee under tornado watch

Updates:

Tropical Storm Elsa now expected to hit Florida’s west coast as a Category 1 hurricane

Tropical Storm Elsa continued to strengthen Tuesday afternoon, prompting hurricane warnings for Florida’s west coast and an upgraded prediction that Elsa will strike Florida as a hurricane.

The warm waters of the Florida Straits proved a more favorable environment for the storm than Cuba’s mountains, and as of the 2 p.m. update, Elsa was packing 70 mph winds — just shy of regaining its Category 1 hurricane status — 24 hours before the National Hurricane Center previously predicted.

Manatee County, Tampa Bay area under tornado watch as Tropical Storm Elsa approaches

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch that includes the Tampa Bay area as Tropical Storm Elsa approaches the west coast of Florida on Tuesday.

DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties are all included in the advisory, which is set to expire at 11 p.m. Tuesday. That means that conditions are right for the possible formation of tornadoes within that time frame.

Weather authorities will issue a tornado warning for specific areas if a tornado occurs or is about to occur.

Officials warn Elsa ‘will not be a walk in the park’ as storm nears hurricane strength

With Tropical Storm Elsa approaching hurricane strength, Manatee County residents rushed to prepare for the rain, wind and storm surge that was expected Tuesday night.

In the days leading up to the storm, local officials urged people to get familiar with their evacuation zones and start gathering the supplies necessary in the event of an emergency. Forecasters expected Elsa to hit Manatee with lots of rain and wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

“This will not be a walk in the park,” Public Safety Director Jacob Saur warned during a Tuesday afternoon press conference about Elsa’s impact on Manatee County.

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Residents of mobile homes, low-lying neighborhoods and other areas prone to flooding will be able to shelter at Manatee High School from Tropical Storm Elsa starting Tuesday morning, county government officials said Tuesday.

The shelter will open at 8 a.m.

“This is a non-mandatory evacuation, and the shelter is pet-friendly,” the county said in a news release.

As of 8 p.m Tuesday, Elsa was about 100 miles south-southwest miles of Tampa, with sustained winds of 75 mph, the threshold to be considered a category 1 hurricane. It was moving to the north at 14 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In the next 24 hours, the hurricane center predicted Elsa could reach near-hurricane strength with 70 mph sustained winds, which prompted hurricane watches for the west-central coast and Big Bend region of Florida.

Manatee County remained under tropical storm and storm surge warnings.

The National Weather Service said Manatee could start to feel strong winds Tuesday afternoon, peaking at around midnight with winds of about 56 mph on Anna Maria Island and and 34 to 37 mph inland.

The storm was forecast to make landfall north of the Suwanee River. A hurricane watch has been declared for part of Florida’s Gulf Coast, between Egmonth Key north to the Steinhatchee River.

Manatee County declared a state of emergency on Sunday, to prepare for Tropical Storm Elsa.

The county said residents on its special needs registry were being contacted to make arrangements to be evacuated to a shelter. The list is for residents who need oxygen or electricity to survive.

“Manatee County shelters will conduct temperature checks and screen visitors by asking if they’re displaying any symptoms of COVID-19,” the release said. “Shelters will have increased spacing as demand allows for social distancing, masks are encouraged and will be provided and if people feel ill they will be separated into other rooms.”

The county also announced:

• Sandbags will be available the following locations, starting at 8 a.m.: Self-Serve Distribution Site (Bags and sand provided), Public Works Department Stormwater Facility 5511 39th St E., Bradenton; Full-Service Distribution Site, GT Bray Park (Parking Lot) 5502 33rd Ave. Drive W. Bradenton; and Pre-made Sandbag Distribution Site, Manatee Beach Parking Lot, 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. 34217. (You can also get sandbags at the city of Bradenton’s Public Works Annex, 1411 Ninth St. W., until 4 p.m. Tuesday.)
• There will be no garbage or recycling collected on Tuesday in unincorporated Manatee County. All cans, carts and outside lawn and patio furnishings should be secured so they don’t become dangerous projectiles in high winds. There will be no recycling collected this week. Yard waste and garbage will be collected Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, as usual. All collections will return to normal on Monday, July 12.
• All MCAT fixed-route bus and trolley service will be suspended at noon Tuesday and will resume at noon on Wednesday. MCAT Handy Bus service on Tuesday will be restricted to riders traveling to and from medical appointments only.
• All Manatee County offices and parks will close to the public at noon Tuesday. Other county government operations will not be suspended.

Also closed Tuesday are all facilities operated by the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County, including its programs run out of its offices on Sixth Avenue West and the COVID-19 testing/vaccination site at the Palmetto Bus Station.

Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Floridians to stay vigilant Tuesday morning as Tropical Storm Elsa approached the state’s west coast.

DeSantis said Elsa will be carrying near-hurricane strength winds when it made landfall overnight Tuesday. He did not expect any major changes to the storm’s track, which currently shows the storm making its way up the west coast on Wednesday.

Most of the heavy rainfall will be east of the center of the storm, he said.

“It’s incredibly lopsided to the east,” DeSantis said.

Parts of north and central Florida, which have received above-average rainfall in recent weeks, could see flash flooding, he said.

“You’re going to see a lot of rain dumped, particularly in the northern part of the state, that is already saturated right now,” DeSantis said. “You will see flash flooding conditions in many parts of Florida.”

The state’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee has been activated to level 1, the highest level. Typically, the center would not be under level 1 for a tropical storm, but it’s been upgraded to help smaller counties that may not be equipped to handle the storm’s impact, DeSantis said. A small team of emergency officials are still in Surfside, where rescuers are still searching for victims from the collapse of a 12-story oceanfront condo.

To ask questions about how to prepare for the storm, the county’s 311 call center will be open until 5 p.m. Monday and reopen at 8 a.m. Tuesday. It will remain open throughout the evening.

Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau staff writer Lawrence Mower contributed to this story.

This story was originally published July 5, 2021 at 4:40 PM.