Tampa International Airport suspended operations at 5 p.m. Tuesday and planned to resume flights at 10 a.m. Wednesday following a check for any storm damage, according to its website.
Duke Energy, the main electric utility in the Tampa Bay area, said in a statement it had about 3,000 employees, contractors, tree specialists and support personnel ready to respond to power outages in the storm’s aftermath. Additional crews were being brought in from other states served by Duke.
“We’re trained and prepared, and we want to ensure our customers are safe and prepared for any impacts from the storm,” said Todd Fountain, the utility’s Florida storm director.
Tropical Storm Elsa becomes Category 1 hurricane with wind speeds of up to 75pmh as it barrels toward Florida coast at 10mph and complicates search for victims of deadly Miami condo collapse
Tropical Storm Elsa gathered strength and has become a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 75 mph as it looms off the coast of Florida
The storm s rains lashed the Caribbean and the Florida Keys and complicated the search for survivors in the deadly collapse of a Miami-area condo 12 days ago
So far, 36 people have been found in the rubble of the demolished building and 109 are still missing
The storm is expected to make landfall between 8am and 9am on Wednesday
Updated
8 hours ago
Elsa’s maximum sustained winds stood at 70 mph early Wednesday.
Curt Anderson
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Elsa weakened to a tropical storm as it threatened Florida’s northern Gulf Coast on Wednesday after raking past the Tampa Bay region with gusty winds and heavy rain.
The storm was moving northward, almost parallel to the west coast of the state, according to forecasters.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said forecasts called for the cyclone to come ashore sometime between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. A tropical storm warning was in effect for a long stretch of coastline, from Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay to the Steinhatchee River.
Nation/World News
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Officials: Storm lashing Florida strengthens into hurricane
Wind moves the grass and palm trees under a cloudy sky after the passage of Tropical Storm Elsa in Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Photographers take pictures of the sky full of clouds after the passage of Tropical Storm Elsa, in Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)