000 WTUS82 KTAE 111310 HLSTAE GMZ750-755-770-775-FLZ007>015-018-026>028-111630- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TROPICAL STORM LOCAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 751 AM EDT SAT JUN 11 2005 ...A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM EAST OF DESTIN TO INDIAN PASS FLORIDA... ...A TROPICAL STORM WARNING CONTINUES FROM DESTIN TO STEINHATCHEE FLORIDA... ...AN INLAND TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR INLAND PORTIONS OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE... ...AREAS AFFECTED... THIS STATEMENT RECOMMENDS ACTION TO BE TAKEN FOR RESIDENTS OF THE FLORIDA BIG BEND AND PANHANDLE INCLUDING WALTON...BAY...GULF... FRANKLIN...WAKULLA...JEFFERSON...TAYLOR...LIBERTY...CALHOUN... WASHINGTON...JACKSON...AND HOLMES COUNTIES. ...WATCH AND WARNING INFORMATION... A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE FROM EAST OF DESTIN EASTWARD TO INDIAN PASS. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND BIG BEND COASTAL COUNTIES EASTWARD TO STEINHATCHEE. AN INLAND TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS IS IN EFFECT FOR INLAND PORTIONS OF THE ABOVE COASTAL COUNTIES...AS WELL AS LIBERTY...CALHOUN... JACKSON... WASHINGTON...HOLMES...AND INLAND WALTON COUNTIES. A FLOOD WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE AREA BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM EDT (4 PM CDT). ...STORM INFORMATION... AT 8 AM EDT (7 AM CDT)...TROPICAL STORM ARLENE WAS CENTERED NEAR LATITUDE 29.0 NORTH...LONGITUDE 87.2 WEST. THIS IS ABOUT 105 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF MOBILE ALABAMA...OR ABOUT 120 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PANAMA CITY. THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE WAS 990 MB. ARLENE WAS MOVING NORTH NORTHWEST NEAR 15 MPH AND ARLENE WILL MAKE LANDFALL SOMEWHERE NEAR MOBILE LATER THIS MORNING OR EARLY AFTERNOON. THE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 70 MPH. SOME STRENGTHENING IS STILL POSSIBLE AND ARLENE COULD BECOME A MINIMAL HURRICANE PRIOR TO LANDFALL. ARLEN IS A RATHER LARGE TROPICAL STORM WITH STORM FORCE WINDS EXTENDING OUTWARD UP TO 160 MILES NORTH AND EAST OF THE CENTER. ...WIND IMPACTS... THE STRONGEST WINDS FROM ARLENE ARE MOST LIKELY OCCURRING NOW ACROSS NORTHWEST FLORIDA AND THE NORTHEAST GULF SINCE THE STORM IS AT ITS CLOSEST POINT OF APPROACH TO THIS AREA. SO FAR MOST OF THE TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS HAVE BEEN IN GUSTS OVER THE GULF OR AT APALACHICOLA. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 35 TO 40 MPH WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG THE PANHANDLE COAST AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS IN SOME OF THE HEAVIER RAIN BANDS THIS MORNING. A FEW WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS INLAND PORTIONS OF THE PANHANDLE...BUT SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 30 MPH ARE MORE LIKELY. THE THREAT OF SUSTAINED TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ALONG THE BIG BEND COAST EAST OF ST MARKS IS RAPIDLY DIMINISHING...BUT A FEW WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE IF SOME HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS MOVE ACROSS THIS AREA. HERE ARE SOME LOCAL WIND REPORTS AS OF 8 AM EDT (7 AM CDT)... PANAMA CITY...EAST AT 17 GUSTING TO 24 MPH. APALACHICOLA...SOUTHEAST AT 23 GUSTING TO 31 MPH. GULF C TOWER (100 FT ABOVE MSL)...39 MPH GUSTING TO 46 MPH. APALACHICOLA BUOY...31 MPH GUSTING TO 38 MPH. PANAMA CITY BUOY...33 MPH GUSTING TO 39 MPH. ...RAINFALL AND FLOOD POTENTIAL INFORMATION... SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THAT ARLENE IS BEGINNING TO WRAP IN QUITE A BIT OF DRY AIR. THIS WILL LIKELY LIMIT THE THREAT FOR WIDESPREAD FLOODING...BUT LOCAL FLOODING WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE LIKELY TODAY...WITH SOME LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE IN NARROW...SLOW MOVING RAIN BANDS. ...STORM SURGE FLOOD AND STORM TIDE IMPACTS... THE HIGHEST STORM SURGE IS PROBABLY OCCURRING THIS MORNING. HERE ARE SOME RECENT REPORTS... PANAMA CITY...1.5 FEET ABOVE NORMAL. APALACHICOLA...2.5 FEET ABOVE NORMAL. CEDAR KEY...2 FEET ABOVE NORMAL. THESE STORM SURGE VALUES OF 2 TO 4 FEET SHOULD CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS. SOME BEACH EROSION WILL OCCUR IN VULNERABLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING CAPE SAN BLAS DUE TO BATTERING WAVES...WITH BREAKERS POSSIBLY REACHING 12 TO 15 FEET. NORMAL ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDES WILL OCCUR DURING THE EARLY AFTERNOON OVER THE WESTERN PANHANDLE AND COULD ADD TO THE STORM TIDE LEVELS. SPECIFIC TIDE FORECASTS FOLLOW... ST MARKS... TODAY: HIGH 6:20 AM...LOW 11:11 AM...HIGH 4:51 PM EDT APALACHICOLA... TODAY: HIGH 9:26 AM...LOW 1:30 PM...HIGH 6:07 PM EDT PORT ST JOE... TODAY: HIGH 1:12 PM SAINT ANDREW BAY AT PANAMA CITY... TODAY: HIGH 12:39 PM...LOW 11:53 PM CDT. ...RIP CURRENTS... ONSHORE WINDS AND ROUGH SEAS WILL CREATE A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS TODAY. ...TORNADO THREAT... ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY ACROSS ALL OF THE FLORIDA BIG BEND AND PANHANDLE...SOUTHEAST ALABAMA...AND SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA. ...NEXT UPDATE... THE NEXT LOCAL STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AROUND 1230 PM EDT (1130 PM CDT) THIS AFTERNOON. $$ FOURNIER