WTUS82 KMLB 300306 HLSMLB AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147- 301000- HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 1105 PM EDT TUE AUG 29 2006 ...ERNESTO OVER THE UPPER FLORIDA KEYS... ...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... THE HURRICANE WATCH FOR ALL PART OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAS BEEN CANCELED. FOR COASTAL SECTIONS...A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. FOR INLAND SECTIONS...AN INLAND TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR OKEECHOBEE...MARTIN...SAINT LUCIE...INDIAN RIVER...BREVARD... VOLUSIA...OSCEOLA...ORANGE...SEMINOLE...AND LAKE COUNTIES. ...STORM INFORMATION... AT 1100 PM EDT THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM ERNESTO WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 80.5 WEST OR ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF KEY LARGO FLORIDA AND ABOUT 65 MILES SOUTH- SOUTHWEST OF MIAMI FLORIDA. THIS POSITION IS JUST A FEW MILES SOUTHEAST OF ISLAMORADA. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 45 MPH. ...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA RESIDENTS SHOULD BE READY FOR TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. NEAR THE COAST RESIDENTS SHOULD ALSO BE PREPARED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF WIND GUSTS NEAR 50 MPH IN THE RAIN BANDS THAT WILL MOVE ON SHORE AHEAD OF TROPICAL STORM ERNESTO. BRING IN LIGHT WEIGHT OBJECTS SUCH AS GARBAGE CANS...TOOLS...AND LAWN FURNITURE...WHICH MIGHT GET TOSSED ABOUT IN GUSTY WINDS. CHECK FLASHLIGHTS AND RADIOS FOR GOOD BATTERIES IN THE FEW AREAS WHERE POWER MAY GO OUT. RESIDENTS ALONG THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY SHOULD PREPARE BOATS AND DOCKS FOR TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS FROM THE SOUTH ON WEDNESDAY. ...WINDS... AT 11 PM...THE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS WITH ERNESTO WERE STILL NEAR 45 MPH BUT NO ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS EXPECTED AS THE CIRCULATION CENTER OF ERNESTO WILL SOON BE OVER SOUTH FLORIDA. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WIND GUSTS WILL SPREAD NORTHWARD TONIGHT... REACHING MARTIN...SAINT LUCIE...AND OKEECHOBEE COUNTIES BY DAYBREAK WEDNESDAY. AS ERNESTO CONTINUES MOVING NORTHWARD...TROPICAL STORM FORCE WIND GUSTS ARE FORECAST TO REACH INDIAN RIVER... BREVARD...OSCEOLA...ORANGE...SEMINOLE...LAKE...AND VOLUSIA COUNTIES BETWEEN LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON. THE STRONGEST WIND 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 A 4 TO 5 FOOT TIDE ALONG MUCH OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. THIS WILL ONLY BE ABOUT A FOOT ABOVE THE NORMAL EXPECTED HIGH TIDE. MINOR BEACH EROSION AND RIP CURRENTS WILL ALSO OCCUR WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. RISES WITHIN THE INTRACOASTAL WATERS SHOULD BE MINIMAL. SOME WAVE ACTION IN THE INTRACOASTAL COULD DAMAGE DOCKS AND BOATS. ...INLAND FLOODING... THE FLOOD WATCH INCLUDES ALL COUNTIES IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. FORECAST RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE 3 TO 4 INCHES...WITH ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS UP TO 6 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 IS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF SOUTH FLORIDA INCLUDING MARTIN...ST LUCIE AND OKEECHOBEE COUNTIES UNTIL 2AM. A FEW RAINBANDS HAVE MOVED ON SHORE BUT THERE HAS BEEN NO INDICATION OF ROTATION. OVERNIGHT AND ON WEDNESDAY THE TORNADO THREAT WILL MOVE NORTH UP THE COAST. 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. THE CENTER OF ERNESTO IS FORECAST TO MOVE BACK OUT OVER THE WATER BETWEEN PORT CANAVERAL AND FLAGLER BEACH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY IN RAINBANDS AND NEAR THE CORE. DURING THE EVENT...SEAS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BUILD TO 10 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 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 6 AM 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