MIAMI – South Florida largely dodged Fred, but we’ll be carefully watching Tropical Depression Grace as it moves its way west across the Caribbean in the coming days.
Grace was poorly organized Sunday, but the storm is forecasted to bring heavy rain across parts of the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico on Sunday night and the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Monday.
Florida was removed from Grace’s forecast cone with Sunday’s 5 p.m. advisory, but the storm could still bring rain and wind to South Florida Wednesday to Thursday of next week.
Meanwhile, Fred, which had disorganized to the point of not even being a tropical depression, reorganized back into a tropical storm over the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday morning.
Tropical Depression Grace
At 8 p.m. Sunday, Grace was 155 miles southeast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, moving west at 15 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.
“On the forecast track, Grace will move over Hispaniola on Monday, near or over eastern Cuba on Tuesday, and near or over west-central Cuba on Wednesday,” the Hurricane Center said. “Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 35 mph with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours.”
Haiti — which was devastated by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Saturday — and the Dominican Republic could see 4 to 8 inches of rain with isolated maximum totals of 15 inches across southern terrain areas. Heavy rainfall could lead to flash and urban flooding and possible mudslides from Monday into Tuesday.
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for:
- Entire coast of the Dominican Republic
- Entire coast of Haiti
A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case within 24 hours.
Tropical Storm Fred
At 8 p.m. Sunday, Tropical Storm Fred was about 205 miles west-southwest of Tampa moving north-northwest at 10 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
The system could produce tropical conditions to parts of the northern Gulf coast on Monday.
“On the forecast track, the center of Fred should move across the eastern and northern Gulf of Mexico through Monday, then make landfall in the western Florida Panhandle Monday afternoon or Monday night,” the NHC said.
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for:
- Coast of the Florida Panhandle from Indian Pass to Yankeetown
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:
- Coast of the Florida Panhandle from Navarre to the Wakulla/ Jefferson County line.
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for:
- Coast of the Florida Panhandle from the Alabama/Florida border to Navarre
A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.
A Storm Surge Warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, during the next 36 hours in the indicated locations.
For the latest South Florida radar and forecast information, visit the Local 10 News Weather Authority page.
To make sure you’re prepared, download the Local 10 Hurricane Survival Guide.