ORLANDO, Fla. – Hurricane Elsa, which was recently upgraded from a tropical storm, remains on a projected path to Florida’s west coast, putting Central Florida on the “dirty side,” the area with the greater chance of severe weather.
Elsa made landfall in Cuba on Monday afternoon near Cienega de Zapata, a natural park with few inhabitants. It headed northwestward across the island, passing Havana just to the east. Rainfall of 5 to 10 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches are expected Tuesday across portions of Cuba which will result in significant flash flooding and mudslides.
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The latest track from the National Hurricane Center shows a projected landfall late Wednesday morning the Big Bend area of Florida. Even now that Elsa has been upgraded to a hurricane, the severe threat and impacts to Central Florida remain the same.
All of Marion and Sumter counties remain tropical storm warnings as of Tuesday morning. Lake is under a tropical storm watch. Osceola and Polk counties are under a tornado watch.
Depending on the track Elsa takes, here’s how the storm could affect Central Florida from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday.
LAKE, MARION & SUMTER COUNTIES
- Tornado threat
- 30-40 mph gusts
- Isolated 50-60 mph gusts in western Marion County and western Sumter County
- Isolated damaging winds
- 3-6 inches of rain
ORANGE, OSCEOLA, & SEMINOLE COUNTIES
- Tornado threat
- 30-40 mph gusts
- Tropical downpours
- 2-4 inches of rain
BREVARD, FLAGLER & VOLUSIA COUNTIES
- Tornado threat
- 20-30 mph gusts
- Isolated strong winds
- Tropical downpours