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Florida Panhandle Residents Advised to Prepare for Storm

Clint Thompson Florida, Weather

NSF – Residents in Florida’s western Panhandle were advised Monday to prepare disaster kits, less than three weeks after being inundated by the rains and storm surge of Hurricane Sally.

“Although Tropical Storm #Delta’s path is still uncertain, residents in Northwest Florida should begin preparing their disaster supply kits,” the state Division of Emergency Management tweeted Monday afternoon. “Make sure kits have enough supplies to last at least 7 days and follow local news outlets for weather updates.”

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Governor Ron DeSantis

Delta, named Monday by the National Hurricane Center, had in its five-day forecast cone the western Panhandle, which sustained heavy flooding because of Hurricane Sally.

“Regardless of the exact path, storm surge, wind and heavy rainfall is possible in Northwest Florida at the end of this week,” Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office warned in an email known as its Daily Digest.

Tropical storm-force winds could affect the state from the Alabama border to east of Tallahassee starting Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center’s afternoon forecast. The forecast earlier had the system reaching the state Thursday. Delta on Monday afternoon had 70 mph sustained winds and was about 160 miles south-southwest of Negril, Jamaica, and southeast of Tropical Storm Gamma, which was in the Gulf of Mexico north of the Yucatan Peninsula. The hurricane center said in an afternoon discussion that Delta was in a “very conducive environment for strengthening.”

Gamma is expected to make landfall over the northwestern Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday and further weaken Wednesday, the hurricane center said. However, Gamma could affect the path of Delta, which is the 25th named storm of the 2020 hurricane season.

(From the News Service of Florida)