Isaias weakens, may strengthen on way to Florida
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. >> Isaias snapped trees and knocked out power as it blew through the Bahamas on Saturday and churned toward the Florida coast, threatening to complicate efforts to contain the coronavirus in places were cases are surging.
Isaias weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm Saturday afternoon but was expected to regain hurricane strength overnight as it barrels toward Florida.
“We’ll start seeing impacts tonight,” Gov. Ron Desantis warned during a news conference. “Don’t be fooled by the downgrade.”
Isaias is piling another burden on communities hit hard by other storms and sickness.
Florida authorities closed beaches, parks and virus testing sites, lashing signs to palm trees so they won’t blow away.
The governor said the state is anticipating power outages and asked residents to have a week’s supply of water, food and medicine on hand. Officials wrestled with how to prepare shelters where people can seek refuge from the storm if necessary, while safely social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus.
Authorities in North Carolina ordered the evacuation of Ocracoke Island, which was slammed by last year’s Hurricane Dorian.
Meanwhile, officials in the Bahamas opened shelters for people on Abaco island to help those who have been living in temporary structures since Dorian devastated the area, killing at least 70 people.
The latest storm’s maximum sustained winds declined steadily throughout Saturday and were near 70 mph at 5 p.m ., when the U.S. National Hurricane Center downgraded its status.
But the agency said it is expected to pick up strength overnight as it heads over warm water toward Florida.
The center of the storm is forecast to approach the southeast coast of Florida early this morning and then travel along the state’s east coast throughout the day. It is expected to remain a hurricane through Monday, then slowly weaken as it climbs up the Atlantic.
Heavy rain, flooding and high winds could batter much of the east coast this week.
Isaias — pronounced eesah-EE-ahs — has been destructive in the Caribbean: On Thursday, before it became a hurricane, it uprooted trees, destroyed crops and homes and caused widespread flooding and small landslides in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
One man died in the Dominican Republic.
In Puerto Rico, the National Guard rescued at least 35 people from floodwaters that swept away one woman, whose body was recovered Saturday.
Concerns about the coronavirus and the vulnerability of people still recovering from Dorian were adding to worries about the storm.
Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis relaxed a coronavirus lockdown as a result of the storm but imposed a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
As the storm moves toward the southeast coast of Florida, a hurricane warning is in effect from Boca Raton to the VolusiaFlagler county line, which lies about 150 miles north. A storm surge watch is in effect for Jupiter Inlet to Ponte Vedra Beach.