Elsawin hit an error
Regardless, crews continued the search in the rubble of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, on the state's southeast coast. The storm complicated the search for potential survivors and victims in the collapse of a Miami-area condominium on June 24. The storm was forecast to move into South Carolina early Thursday, and by Friday its effects could be felt as far north as New England. “We're pretty fortunate.”Įlsa's center was forecast to cross into southeast Georgia on Wednesday afternoon, bringing a risk of flooding from an anticipated 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) of rain. “It's definitely a lot better than expected considering it was supposed to be a hurricane that hit,” Roper said. In Steinhatchee, Florida, not far from where Elsa came ashore, there was some flooding, but no worse than the town typically sees from heavy rain, said Melissa Roper, whose family owns Off The Clock Fisheries and Marina along the Steinhatchee River. Scattered power outages were being reported along Elsa's path Wednesday afternoon, with about 30,000 homes and businesses on either side of the Georgia-Florida state line without electricity, according to the website. Tornado watches were also in effect in parts of northern Florida and southeast Georgia until 8 p.m. “Be very careful when you're working to clear debris.”Įven after Elsa struck land, tropical storm warnings remained Wednesday afternoon along Florida's Big Bend as well as for the entire Georgia and South Carolina coasts. “Clearly, this could have been worse,” the Republican governor said, though he cautioned that many storm-related deaths happen after the system passes. Ron DeSantis told a news conference that no major structural damage or storm deaths had been reported. National Hurricane Center said the storm made landfall in lightly populated Taylor County, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph). A weakened Tropical Storm Elsa dumped rain across Florida's northern Gulf Coast early Wednesday, sparing the state from significant damage as it churned toward Georgia with threats of flooding downpours and possibly tornadoes.Įlsa wobbled through the Gulf of Mexico, briefly reaching hurricane strength, but moved ashore as a tropical storm late Wednesday morning.