Tropical Storm Ernesto Threatens Florida

MIAMI, Florida, August 28, 2006 (ENS) - Almost one year to the day after Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, this year's first serious Atlantic storm is blowing north from Cuba.

Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane for 10 hours, but weakened into a tropical storm, with sustained winds of 50 mph early today, said the National Hurricane Center based in Miami. The storm is forecast to regain Category 1 hurricane strength before it makes landfall in the Florida Keys or South Florida on Tuesday night.

Ernesto struck Cuba this morning, about 20 miles west of the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay. In Haiti, Ernesto swept the southwest coast on Sunday, claiming at least two lives.

Tropical Storm Ernesto sweeps across Cuba on its way to Florida and points north. (Photo credit unknown)

Florida Governor Jeb Bush has declared a state of emergency for the entire state, and Monroe County has declared a local state of emergency for the Florida Keys.

A visitor evacuation is in effect for all the Florida Keys. People with immediate future travel plans to the Keys must postpone trips until the risk has passed and officials issue a directive that travel can resume. Federal, state and county parks in the region are closed.

Monroe County Airports Director Peter Horton reports airlines will continue flying out of Key West through tonight. Horton reported that the last commercial flight, a Continental Connection flight to Tampa is scheduled to depart at 7:15 p.m. A final Greyhound bus is to depart the airport terminal in Key West at 8:45 Tuesday morning.

Both Key West International and Florida Keys Marathon Airport terminals will be open Tuesday morning until about 10 a.m. to service rental car customers. The terminals will then close until after watches and warnings are discontinued.

The evacuation of about 40 special needs patients to the shelter at Florida International University was completed this afternoon, according to Monroe County Emergency Management Director Irene Toner.

Officials are encouraging residents living in mobile home trailers, low-lying areas subject to flooding and boat live-aboards to evacuate to shelters. Four hurricane shelters are open in the Florida Keys.

Federal government map shows the projected path of Tropical Storm Ernesto, forecast to hit the central Florida coast on Wednesday and to be in South Carolina by Thursday. (Photo courtesy NOAA)

Rick Ramsey, of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, reported that law enforcement agencies in the Keys are operating on standard shifts. Calls for service and traffic are very light, Ramsey said, adding there are no reported fuel shortages in the Keys.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, has 41 pre-positioned disaster supply units in place across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina, and the agency has 344 truckloads of water staged in locations across the Southeast.

Although Ernesto's path is hundreds of miles away, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco held a unified command conference call with officials from the Governor's Office of Homeland Security, FEMA, and state agency heads Sunday to determine future courses of action in advance of the storm.

With the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season now here, experts from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, are reiterating their prediction of an above-normal number of storms. NOAA scientists warn this year's relatively quiet start is not an indication of what the remainder of the season has in store.

"This year's three named storms may pale in comparison to the record nine storms that formed through early August 2005, but conditions will be favorable for above-normal activity for the rest of this season-so we are not off the hook by any means," said NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher.