WTUS82 KMLB 292135 HLSMLB AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147- 300400- TROPICAL STORM LOCAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 534 PM EDT TUE AUG 29 2006 ...RAIN BANDS FROM ERNESTO BEGIN MOVING ONSHORE IN MARTIN AND ST. LUCIE COUNTIES... ...NEW INFORMATION... A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUE FOR MUCH OF SOUTH FLORIDA INCLUDING MARTIN...ST LUCIE AND OKEECHOBEE COUNTIES UNTIL 2AM. THE FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN EXPANDED TO INCLUDE LAKE COUNTY. ...AREAS AFFECTED... THIS STATEMENT IS FOR RESIDENTS OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA...INCLUDING MARTIN...SAINT LUCIE...OKEECHOBEE...INDIAN RIVER...BREVARD... OSCEOLA...ORANGE...SEMINOLE...VOLUSIA...AND LAKE COUNTIES. ...WATCHES/WARNINGS... FOR COASTAL SECTIONS...A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM NEW SMYRNA BEACH SOUTHWARD ALONG THE FLORIDA ATLANTIC COAST...INCLUDING LAKE OKEECHOBEE. NORTH OF NEW SMYRNA BEACH...A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT. FOR INLAND SECTIONS...AN INLAND TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND INLAND HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR OKEECHOBEE...MARTIN...SAINT LUCIE... INDIAN RIVER...BREVARD...AND VOLUSIA COUNTIES. FARTHER WEST...AN INLAND TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR OSCEOLA...ORANGE... SEMINOLE...AND LAKE COUNTIES. ...STORM INFORMATION... AT 500 PM EDT THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM ERNESTO WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.3 NORTH...LONGITUDE 80.2 WEST OR ABOUT 105 MILES EAST OF KEY WEST FLORIDA AND ABOUT 105 MILES SOUTH OF MIAMI FLORIDA. ERNESTO IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 13 MPH. THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TONIGHT ...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA RESIDENTS SHOULD MAKE EFFICIENT USE OF THE REMAINING HOURS THIS EVENING TO PREPARE FOR THE LIKELIHOOD OF TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS BEGINNING TONIGHT AND CONTINUING THROUGH WEDNESDAY. NEAR THE COAST AND LAKE OKEECHOBEE...RESIDENTS SHOULD ALSO BE PREPARED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF MINIMAL HURRICANE WIND GUSTS. PERSONS IN MOBILE HOMES...ESPECIALLY IF UNANCHORED...SHOULD CONSIDER MOVING TO A SAFER PLACE. BRING IN LIGHT WEIGHT OBJECTS SUCH AS GARBAGE CANS...TOOLS...AND LAWN FURNITURE...WHICH MIGHT GET TOSSED ABOUT IN GUSTY WINDS. PERFORM A BATTERY CHECK ON FLASHLIGHTS AND RADIOS...ESPECIALLY YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO. RESIDENTS ALONG THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY SHOULD PREPARE BOATS AND DOCKS FOR STRONG TROPICAL STORM WINDS FROM THE SOUTH ON WEDNESDAY. ...WINDS... THE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS WITH ERNESTO ARE CURRENTLY NEAR 45 MPH. HOWEVER...SOME STRENGTHENING IS EXPECTED AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE FLORIDA STRAITS TOWARD SOUTH FLORIDA TONIGHT. AFTER LANDFALL LATE TONIGHT ERNESTO WILL MOVE INLAND TOWARD CENTRAL FLORIDA. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS...BETWEEN 40 AND 50 MPH WITH GUSTS POSSIBLY AS HIGH AS 60 MPH WILL SPREAD NORTHWARD LATE TONIGHT...REACHING MARTIN...SAINT LUCIE...AND OKEECHOBEE COUNTIES BY DAYBREAK WEDNESDAY. AS ERNESTO CONTINUES MOVING NORTHWARD...TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE FORECAST TO REACH INDIAN RIVER...BREVARD... OSCEOLA...ORANGE...SEMINOLE...LAKE...AND VOLUSIA COUNTIES BETWEEN LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON. THE TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO LAST ABOUT 12 HOURS. THE STRONGEST WINDS...ESPECIALLY IN GUSTS...WILL OCCUR NEAR THE CENTER OF ERNESTO AND ALONG THE COAST AS RAINBANDS SPREAD ONSHORE. ...STORM SURGE AND STORM TIDE... AS ERNESTO MOVES NORTHWARD ACROSS THE FLORIDA PENINSULA...THE COMBINATION OF AN EARLY AFTERNOON HIGH TIDE AND ONSHORE FLOW WILL RESULT IN STORM SURGE HEIGHTS MAY REACH 2 TO 3 FEET IN A BRISK ONSHORE TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WILL RESULT IN A 4 TO 6 FOOT TIDE ALONG MUCH OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. THIS WILL RESULT IN A MODERATE THREAT OF LOCALIZED COASTAL FLOODING DURING THE HIGH TIDE CYCLE. BEACH EROSION AND RIP CURRENTS WILL ALSO OCCUR WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. RISES WITHIN THE INTRACOASTAL WATERS SHOULD BE 2 FEET OR LESS...EXCEPT POSSIBLY AS HIGH AS 3 FEET IN SHELTERED AREAS EXPOSED TO STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS AS THE STORM CENTER PASSES WEST OF THE REGION WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ...INLAND FLOODING... THE FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN EXPANDED TO INCLUDE LAKE COUNTY AND NOW INCLUDES ALL COUNTIES IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. FORECAST RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE 3 TO 6 INCHES...WITH ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS UP TO 8 INCHES POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY NEAR AND EAST OF THE STORM CENTER. LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS WILL BE THE FIRST TO FLOOD. SOME ROADS OR INTERSECTIONS MAY BECOME TEMPORARILY IMPASSABLE. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOU TO CROSS SAFELY. ...TORNADOES... A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUE FOR MUCH OF SOUTH FLORIDA INCLUDING MARTIN...ST LUCIE AND OKEECHOBEE COUNTIES UNTIL 2AM. OVERNIGHT AND ON WEDNESDAY THE TORNADO THREAT WILL MOVE NORTH AHEAD AND TO THE RIGHT OF THE CIRCULATION CENTER OF ERNESTO. THE GREATEST THREAT WILL BE WITH TROPICAL RAINBANDS MOVING INTO THE COASTAL COMMUNITIES FROM THE ATLANTIC. ...MARINE... TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT SOUTH OF VERO BEACH...THEN SPREAD NORTHWARD WEDNESDAY. A FEW HURRICANE FORCE GUSTS ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY IN RAINBANDS AND NEAR THE CORE. THE CENTER OF ERNESTO IS FORECAST TO MOVE BACK OUT OVER THE WATER BETWEEN PORT CANAVERAL AND FLAGLER BEACH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. DURING THE EVENT...SEAS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BUILD TO 16 FEET WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT BETWEEN JUPITER INLET AND FLAGLER BEACH. MARINERS SHOULD MOVE TO SAFE HARBOR WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE ONSET OF THE TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS. AS THE CENTER OF ERNESTO MOVES NORTH OVER FLORIDA...STRONG WINDS OVER THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY WILL PRODUCE VERY ROUGH CONDITIONS...POSSIBLY DAMAGING SOME BOATS AND DOCKS...ESPECIALLY THOSE EXPOSED TO STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ...NEXT UPDATE... THE NEXT HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE WILL BE ISSUED AROUND MIDNIGHT OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT. A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT CAN BE FOUND ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE WEB SITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MLB/GHLS/HLS_MAIN.HTML $$ DECKER