St Johns County issues Tropical Storm Erika situation update

St. Johns County Emergency Operations Center Director, Linda Stoughton, has informed local Historic City News reporters that we will continue to receive a situation updates automatically as Tropical Storm Erika continues its path in the Atlantic Ocean towards land.  Currently, the Emergency Operation Center remains at Activation Level 3; which means that they are monitoring the situation.

At 11:00 am today, the center of Tropical Storm Erika was located near 16.4N 63.3W or approximately 125 miles west of Guadeloupe moving west at 16 mph.  Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph with tropical storm force winds extending out 105 miles primarily to the north and east of the center.

• Erika is not well organized at this time and data received from Hurricane Hunter aircraft do not indicate any strengthening.  No significant strengthening is expected during the next 48 hours as Erika continues to encounter an unfavorable atmospheric environment as it approaches Puerto Rico and Hispaniola.
• Erika should slowly begin to turn to the northwest and then the north-northwest but there is uncertainty as to how soon this turn will take place.  The future track of Erika is dependent on its intensity, with a weaker system more likely to move towards the west and a stronger system more to the east.  There is a substantial spread in forecast models on days 3 – 5 of the forecast period.
• Potential Impacts for the Bahamas and beyond are unusually uncertain.
• St. Johns County is within the National Hurricane Centers 5 day Forecast Cone. It should be noted that at the 5 day forecast point the average error in track forecast is 225 miles.
• The earliest potential for tropical storm force winds over the Florida peninsula would be Sunday.
• Today’s Weather: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3:00 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. North wind 6 to 10 mph becoming east in the afternoon.
• Tonight’s Weather: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

The next Situation Report will be issued tomorrow at 12:30

St. Johns County Emergency Management is requesting that any departments or organizations that are taking any actions relative to the storm please advise us by email so that they can be added to our situation reports.

Now would be a good time for all citizens to review their emergency plan and supplies, as well as determine their Evacuation Zone

Please take this time to make sure that your NOAA weather radio is operational.  The programming numbers for the NOAA weather radios are as follows:

• North St. Johns County – Jacksonville Transmitter – 162.550
• Southern St. Johns County – Palatka Transmitter – 162.425
• A.M.E number for specific County programming – 012109

St. Johns County Emergency Management is participating in conference calls with the Florida Division of Emergency Management and National Hurricane Center for the most up-to-date information on Tropical Storm Erika.