Elsa makes landfall in Cuba as Florida braces for tropical storm

·1 min read
A satellite photo from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration captures Elsa moving in the eastern Caribbean on 4 July. (RAMMB/NOAA/NESDIS/AFP via Getty)
A satellite photo from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration captures Elsa moving in the eastern Caribbean on 4 July. (RAMMB/NOAA/NESDIS/AFP via Getty)

Tropical Storm Elsa has weakened slightly with winds dropping to 60mph as it made landfall on the southern coast of Cuba in the midafternoon on 5 July.

More than 180,000 residents were evacuated from the country as the storm approached, expecting to bring flooding rains through Monday before entering the Gulf of Mexico and making a second landfall on the western coast of Florida, according to projections from the National Weather Service.

Heavy rains are expected to bring “significant flooding and mudslides” across Cuba, the agency said. “Tropical storm conditions and a dangerous storm surge” will continue through central and western Cuba on Monday.

Florida and coastal Georgia could see isolated flooding though Wednesday, when the storm is likely to begin to weaken to a tropical depression.

Tropical storm warnings are in effect along the southern Florida, with tropical storm watches extending from Port St Joe along the panhandle towards Tampa and Fort Myers.

“On the forecast track, Elsa is expected to continue to move over west-central Cuba for the next several hours, move into the Florida Straits this evening, and pass near the Florida Keys early Tuesday,” according to an afternoon alert from the National Weather Service.

Though the storm has weakened as it moves over land, it is expected to gain some strength when it enters the gulf.

On Saturday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency for 15 counties, including Miami-Dade, where emergency crews performed a controlled demolition of a partially collapsed condo building in Surfside ahead of the storm’s approach.

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