TD9 May Become a Tropical Storm Later Today. Heavy Rains Forecasted For Areas of The State, Particularly In The Big Bend Where the Storm is Projected to Make Landfall as Early as Thursday

Latest from the National Hurricane Center:

“The depression is moving toward the west near 7 mph (11 km/h). A slow west-northwestward motion is expected today. A turn toward the north-northwest is expected tonight, followed by a turn toward the north-northeast on Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of the depression will continue to move slowly away from western Cuba, and move into the eastern Gulf of Mexico over the next 48 hours.”

FMIT Ride-Out teams will remain on standby throughout the the week as the path and strength of the tropical depression become more clear. Future alerts will be sent twice daily due to the storm’s projected path into FL later this week. Should the storm develop significantly, we will arrange pre-event webinars and calls to educate Members on FMIT’s mitigation and response procedures.

Storm Imagery (Courtesy www.nhc.noaa.gov/ and www.myfoxhurricane.com/ )

FMIT Discussion

• Tropical Depression 9 is expected to strengthen into a Tropical Storm by later today.
• Wind speeds remain at 35mph and are expected to grow to 65mph by later this week.
• Heavy amounts of rainfall are still in the forecast for later this week with the possibility of flooding across parts of the state, including the Big Bend.
• Most models show the system affecting areas of Florida towards the end of the week.
• FMIT Alerts will now be sent only to Members in the projected path of the storm. Members in Central and Northern Counties will continue to receive alerts.

Still to Watch:
99L is projected to make a turn to the North/Northwest later today and then turn North/Northeast tomorrow. It is projected to increase in intensity slightly over the next couple of days. Winds remain at to 35 mph and are projected to continue to increase as convection around the low is forecast to increase as the week goes on. Areas of North Central, Big Bend, and the Panhandle should maintain a watchful eye on the storm as the week progresses.

FMIT Member Preparedness Actions

• FMIT Ride-Out teams are making plans to identify areas for initial deployment as necessary to assist Member with the response and recovery process. FMIT’s Property Insurance Policy affords many benefits to its members.
• Members should continue to monitor the storm as well as FMIT Alerts and local/national weather forecasts.
• Members throughout the western coast of FL should begin preparations for potential landfall later this week, which may include communications with internal emergency response leadership.