As Florida prepares for a tropical depression heading towards the Eastern Panhandle area, Governor Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency for the counties it will pass through, included in a list at the bottom of the article. The area included covered the Gulf Coast from the southwestern city Fort Myers north through Panama City in the Panhandle. The system in the Caribbean headed for the Gulf has now a 90% chance of reaching tropical storm levels in the next couple of days. Nick Carr, a meteorologist for the National Service Miami, says “The storm could continue strengthening as it reaches the Gulf on Tuesday, potentially reaching hurricane strength before it makes landfall.” As all this is happening, Franklin (a storm southeast of Florida) has become a hurricane and is predicted to reach major hurricane strength soon.
The depression could also occur simultaneously with South Florida’s “king tides” next week, causing already elevated seas to rise even more and increase the likelihood of widespread flooding. St, Petersburg’s tide has been predicted to be 3 feet above average levels, when the usual high tide is about a foot above.
As of August 26, there are two scenarios the storm will most likely follow. “If it continues to head in the direction of the Panhandle, it could form into a stronger tropical storm or low-category hurricane, as it would’ve had more time over the wam waters of the Gulf,” reported Meteorologist Josh Linker. “If it heads closer to the Tampa Bay area, it could be a weaker storm.” Fortunately for the Tampa Bay Area, this rainfall could solve their significant rain deficit for this year.
The Gulf is usually quite warm during the peak of hurricane season, but this year the body of water has been experiencing unprecedented heat, which could give more fuel for tropical disturbances to develop. “There’s definitely going to be a big source of energy for this potential system to develop and strengthen off of,” reported Ali Davis, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Tampa Bay. Past storms that have formed in the east gulf have been quite dangerous for Florida; take Hurricane Michael in 2018. Michael started off in the Yucatán Peninsula and made contact on the Panhandle as a Category 5 hurricane, wreaking havoc on Mexico Beach.
List of counties DeSantis declared state of emergency: Alachua Bay, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citms, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee’s, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, and Wakulla Counties.
