August 27, 2012 10:08 PM
4 A.M. UPDATE - Northwest Florida Daily News:
Location: 27.5°N 88.1°W
Moving: NW at 10 mph
Min pressure: 977 mb
Max sustained: 70 mph
Hurricane warnings for Northwest Florida, from Destin west to the Alabama border, have been dropped as of the 4 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center on Tropical Storm Isaac.
In their 4 p.m. discussion, forecasters said the storm had jogged a bit to the west-northwest and was growing stronger. Winds were up to 70 mph and the barometric pressure was down to 981 millibars. As of 10 p.m. CDT Monday Isaac was about 190 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving northwest at 10 mph, with winds of about 70 mph.
Northwest Florida remains under a tropical storm warning. That means the area can expect tropical storm conditions in the coming hours. Isaac lashed the Florida Keys and South Florida with wind and rain Sunday and Monday, and forecasters expect it become a hurricane as it makes its way toward the northern Gulf Coast. Isaac is expected to make landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast by Tuesday or Wednesday - the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. That storm caused disastrous flooding all along the coast. A hurricane hasn't hit the Gulf Coast since Ike in 2008.
Hurricane center forecasters are uncertain of the storm's path because two of their best computer models have tracked the storm on opposite sides of a broad cone for much of Sunday. One model has Isaac going well west and the other well east.
Locally, Santa Rosa County and Walton County officials have ordered some evacuations beginning this morning, while Okaloosa County officials have not followed suit.
Santa Rosa County students will not have after school activities today or school on Tuesday.
Walton County students are off until at least Wednesday, since the county needed some school buildings to use as emergency shelters.
Okaloosa County Schools will close Tuesday, according to Superintendent Alexis Tibbetts.
Locally, the biggest threat is expected to be heavy rainfall and localized flooding in low-lying areas. Coastal Okaloosa County may receive up to 12 inches of rain, while inland areas could see 6, according to Randy McDaniel, Emergency Management Director.
Other closings include the Gulf Island National Seashore to public use.
"Right now, we have to close the park for the safety of our visitors and our employees," said National Park Service Superintendent Dan Brown.
Eglin Air Force Base plans to fly some of its aircraft out Monday in anticipation of tropical storm force winds in the area on Tuesday.
The majority of Hurlburt's planes have already left for Little Rock Air Force Base.
Read more: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/hurricane-51963-county-coast.html#ixzz24qNSOafH
