Go Away Fay! Tropical Storm Makes 4th Record Florida Landfall
By Ann Baker on Aug 23rd, 2008 in Earth | Add story link to StumbleUpon
Tropical Storm Fay is making her presence felt again and again in Florida. Her latest target is the state’s Panhandle, where she made landfall on Saturday. Her approach from the Gulf of Mexico marks a record fourth landfall for the storm in Florida.
At 5:00 p.m., Fay’s center was closest to Destin, to the east of Pensacola with maximum winds near 45 mph.
While never reaching hurricane strength, Fay has still proven deadly in Florida, as she had in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba before her arrival in the U.S. on Monday. Florida emergency officials report that Fay has caused 11 deaths since first making landfall.
Tropical Storm Fay is forecast to move in a westerly direction across the Florida Panhandle over the next 12-24 hours. Onshore winds will create a storm surge of 2-4 feet above normal tide levels, and a High Surf Advisory remains in effect along West Central Florida beaches.
Heavy rains are spreading westward across the I-10 corridor, with some locations in the Florida Big Bend already receiving more than 15 inches of rain and another 5-10 inches are possible through Sunday.
Map photo courtesy: National Hurricane Center
