ORLANDO, Fla. – Saturday morning, Hurricane hunters flew into Tropical Storm Erika. Data from their recon mission, along with surface observations from Cuba, showed Erika degenerating and transitioning to a basic trough of low pressure.
"Erika has dissipated as a tropical cyclone. All tropical storm watches and warnings have been discontinued," they said.
The remnants of Erika will continue to track west-northwest over the next 12-24 hours. Erika should shift towards the northwest, bringing heavy tropical rain to Cuba and the southern Bahamas.
It's no surprise, that models are still not in perfect agreement of where the left over moisture will track. Some models even going as far as regenerating it as it moves into the warm Gulf waters by next week. Regardless of regeneration, locally heavy rain and gusty winds will spread from south to north into Central Florida over the next few days.
Even though Erika lost its tropical characteristics, it's still holding onto its tropical moisture. The Bahamas, and Cuba could see rainfall accumulations between 3-6 inches and maximum amounts of up to 10 inches through Saturday. This setup will increase the risk of flash floods and mudslides for residents, which has already happened throughout the eastern Caribbean islands this week.
Locally, rainfall amounts of 3-5 inches, with locally heavier amounts, are possible across Southern and Central Florida beginning on Sunday through the first half of the work week,
This is the last advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on this system, but it won't be the last time we talk about "Old Erika" affecting our local forecast across Central Florida.