Powerful storm drenches Florida Panhandle region
Tropical Storm Fred made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on Monday afternoon, lashing the Gulf Coast with powerful winds that could cause a dangerous storm surge, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm came ashore near Cape San Blas, southeast of Panama City, the hurricane center said, and was moving north with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph.
Authorities had issued tropical storm warnings along Florida’s Big Bend Coast to the Steinhatchee River, and forecasters said the storm could cause a major storm surge.
A storm surge warning was also in effect for parts of the Florida Panhandle coastline.
“This is a life-threatening situation,” the hurricane center said. “Persons located within these areas should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water.”
Fred brought heavy rains to eastern Cuba and some of the Bahamas on Friday before passing near the Florida Keys on Saturday.
Fred is forecast to bring up to 8 inches of rain to the coast, with isolated totals of up to 12 inches. The heavy rainfall could lead to flooding with possible rapid river rises, the center said.
Along parts of the Florida Panhandle coastline, the storm surge could reach 3-5 feet, the center said. Two feet of flowing water is enough to float a vehicle.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Fred’s tropical stormforce winds extended 115 miles from the storm’s center.
Parts of southeastern Alabama through western and northern Georgia could see rainfall totals of up to 7 inches, with isolated totals up to 10 inches, the center said.
Fred formed late Tuesday as the sixth named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.
The links between hurricanes and climate change are becoming more apparent. A warming planet can expect to experience stronger hurricanes over time, and a higher incidence of the most powerful storms — though the overall number of storms could drop because factors like stronger wind shear could keep weaker storms from forming.
Hurricanes are also becoming wetter because of more water vapor in the warmer atmosphere. Scientists have suggested that storms like Hurricane Harvey in 2017 produced far more rain than they would have without the human effects on climate. Also, rising sea levels are contributing to higher storm surges — the most destructive elements of tropical cyclones.
A major U.N. climate report released Aug. 9 warned that nations had delayed curbing their fossil-fuel emissions for so long that they could no longer stop global warming from intensifying over the next 30 years, leading to more frequent life-threatening heat waves and severe droughts. Tropical cyclones have most likely become more intense over the past 40 years, the report said, a shift that cannot be explained by natural variability alone.
Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have forecast that there would be 15-21 named storms this year in the Atlantic, 7-10 of which would be hurricanes.