Erika proves to be just a test for us
Tropical storm dissipates after doing deadly damage to Caribbean islands
Tropical Storm Erika is dead, at least for now.
The mushy yet cantankerous system, which kept South Florida on edge for the past week, dissipated into an open wave Saturday morning while in the Caribbean near Cuba. Thank strong wind shear and the system’s collision with the rugged mountains of Hispaniola.
“Well, we made it through the hurricane scare and can chalk it all up to a really good test run,” said Tara Monks, spokeswoman for the Port of Palm Beach.
It’s possible Erika will make a comeback. The National Hurricane Center gave Erika’s remnants a low chance of regenerating in the Gulf of Mexico next week. If so, it’s expected to aim toward Florida’s west coast or panhandle.
Remnants of Erika will move northwest across South Florida today, which will result in potential flooding, the National Weather Service reported. A flood watch has been issued for 5 a.m. today through 8 a.m. Monday.
But it will likely will be business as usual for South Florida next week.
Broward and MiamiDade school officials have announced public schools will be open on Monday.
The Palm Beach County School District said a decision would be made by midday today. Events planned for today will be canceled. For updates, go to palmbeachschools.org or @PBCSD on Twitter.
Although the storm has deflated, the National Weather Service said moisture streaming from its remnants still could produce 3 to 5 inches of rain, with higher amounts possible, across South Florida today and Monday.
That could cause flooding and even spawn tornadoes. High tides also could trigger coastal flooding today.
Because of stormy weather lingering in the Caribbean, air travelers are urged to check with their airlines if they are planning trips to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and other eastern Caribbean islands.
All of South Florida’s seaports resumed normal operations Saturday after the Coast Guard reopened all of its area stations.
Florida had been watching Erika since Aug. 24, when it emerged in the cen- tral Atlantic. The system at one point was forecast to brush or hit South Florida as a hurricane with top winds of 85 mph.
Much of the state had been in Erika’s cone of uncertainty for the past few days. Before the system fell apart, it had been predicted to aim west of Florida into the Gulf of Mexico and possibly pose a threat to the North Gulf Coast.
Erika’s remnants brought heavy rain to Cuba on Saturday and could douse the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southern Bahamas today, senior hurricane specialist Jack Beven of the hurricane center said.
Earlier in the week, Erika left a trail of devastation across the eastern Caribbean, as it triggered floods and mudslides. The system killed at least 20 people, left 31 more missing, and de- stroyed hundreds of homes, bridges and roads on the small eastern Caribbean island of Dominica.
“The extent of the devastation is monumental. It is far worse than expected,” Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said. “We have, in essence, to rebuild Dominica.”
The storm also drenched Haiti and the Dominican Republic early Saturday. In Leogane, just west of the Haitian capital of Port-auPrince, four people died and 11 were hospitalized after a truck carrying liquor crashed into a bus and exploded, the result of rainslick roads, officials said.
Also in Haiti, authorities evacuated 254 prisoners in Gonaives to other locations because of flooding, and two people were hospitalized after their home in Port-au-Prince collapsed in heavy rains.
The hurricane center is monitoring a disturbance in the eastern Atlantic, giving it a high chance of developing within the next two days. For now, that system is expected to aim north into the Atlantic. The next storm will be named Fred.