Elsa strengthens as the first hurricane of the season

(CNN) – Hurricane Elsa strengthened significantly on Friday morning, becoming the first hurricane of the 2021 season.

This is the third hurricane of the season threatening the coast of the United States, approaching the Florida Peninsula next week. The site of the deadly condo collapse on the Surface.

The National Hurricane Center said the Elsa was blowing at a speed of 136 km / h and 169 km / h. At 8 p.m. Typhoon ET was moving westward at a speed of 30 mph, about 1,287 km east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.

Follow Elsa’s Journey here

A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica, from Port-au-Prince in southern Haiti to the southern border of the Dominican Republic, and from Punta Balenke on the southern coast of the Dominican Republic to the Haitian border.

Hurricane surveillance was provided for several eastern Cuban provinces.

There is a tropical storm observation on the south coast of the Dominican Republic to Capo Engano east of Punta Balanci and off the coast of Haiti north of Port-au-Prince.

Tropical storm surveillance is in effect on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic from Capo Engano to Mansanilo Bay and to Cayman Brock and the Little Cayman Islands, Sabah and Sind Eustatius.

“A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case, in the next few hours. Arrangements to protect lives and property must be completed quickly,” the hurricane center said in a special announcement Friday morning.

Elsa is the fifth oldest recorded hurricane, and this season was earlier than the record-breaking speed of the 2020 hurricane season. The first hurricane of the season is not usually seen until August 10, with the average date of the first tropical storm being July 9th.

Puerto Rico can receive up to 7 centimeters (3 inches) of rain

The forecast for the storm is expected to move along the southern coast of Hispaniola on Saturday, bringing hurricane conditions late Saturday into the southern Dominican Republic and Haiti. This could strengthen before a hurricane causes landslides on Saturday.

On Sunday, the storm is forecast to move to or near Jamaica and Cuba, where it could weaken the land contact system into a tropical storm.

The storm is forecast to bring 10 to 20 centimeters (4 to 8 inches) of rain on Friday to 38 centimeters (15 inches) south of Leeward, including the Windward Islands and Barbados. Puerto Rico can see 1 to 3 inches (2 to 7 centimeters) from Saturday. Flash floods and landslides are possible in areas with high rainfall.

Charles Zhang, director of communications for Barbados Prime Minister Mia Motley, has said that Elsa has left Barbados without authority.

Debris and tree branches spread across the island and photos of roofless buildings and large trees emerge, due to the strong winds that Barbados has experienced for decades, Zhang says.

In Hispaniola and southern Jamaica, 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain is expected, with isolated areas of up to 15 inches (38 centimeters), from Saturday to Sunday, the center said. Hurricane

Those near the recently erupted La Vince volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are of extra concern: heavy rains causing Lahars.

“As the volcano erupted, it left large amounts of ash on the island, most of which was at high altitudes.

“In Hispaniola and southern Jamaica, a maximum of 12 inches (30 cm) of isolated 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) of isolated rain is expected from Saturday to Sunday. This rain will cause flooding and landslides,” the Hurricane Center said.

The governor says the Elsa condo could affect the search

By Monday morning, the storm is expected to turn further north, and it will pass over Florida on Tuesday. There is considerable uncertainty over the forecast extension, so the right part of Florida could be affected. Almost the entire state of Florida is in the forecast cone from the hurricane center.

Elsa may affect search and rescue efforts in a few days The site of the condo slope on the SurfaceFlorida Gov. Ron Desantis said.

“Tropical storm power winds could blow in this area,” he said Friday morning. “It’s not guaranteed, but it’s possible, so our emergency management department assumes it will happen and can, apparently, protect most of the equipment to secure the equipment needed.

Miami-Tate County Mayor Daniel Levine Kawa told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Friday that “we need to know for sure that we’re in danger very soon” from Hurricane Elsa.

“We have started the process and we ask everyone to make the necessary arrangements for the hurricane,” the mayor said. “We will monitor the storm so that if it appears that there is too much wind to search and rescue safely, we should be suspended.”

At a news conference Friday afternoon, Levine Kawa said the demolition of the Sampline Towers south would not begin until after the storm passed through the Miami area.

Search and rescue operations at the site were suspended Thursday due to structural concerns and then resumed overnight. The Florida State Response Team coordinated 500 state and local first responders at the scene, Desantis said.

Elsa’s Impact on Florida “Beginning Sunday night … we add this special importance to this site because we understand the sensitivity involved,” the governor said.

Miami-Date County faces the risk of heavy rain and wind from Elsa from Sunday night until Monday morning, Charles, director of the district division of emergency management, said Thursday night.

Although officials do not believe the county is in immediate danger, they have developed emergency plans, he said.

Early next week, the Florida Keys and parts of the South Florida Peninsula are at risk of storms, winds and heavy rain, the Hurricane Center warns. It is also very uncertain how strong Elsa will be next week due to discrepancies between terrain contact and weather patterns.

There is not much confidence in the extended forecast path to the hurricane center. Some weather models predict that Elsa will return to the east of Florida, while others will take her to the Gulf of Mexico, leaving the entire Florida peninsula in measurement failure.

“It is too early to determine what the consequences will be next week, given the uncertainty of the long-term forecast.” Said Thursday Hurricane Center.

CNN’s Monica Garrett, Michael Kiruba and Taylor Ward contributed to the report.