TS Elsa sweeps along Cuba’s southern coast, expected to make landfall on island by midafternoon

FORT LAUDERDALE– Tropical Storm Elsa is sweeping along Cuba’s southern coast, and forecasters expect it to make landfall on the island’s central shore by midafternoon Monday.

As of the 8 a.m. Monday National Hurricane Center advisory, Elsa was moving northwest at 14 mph with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph.

It was located about 55 miles east southeast of Cayo Largo, Cuba.

While the storm system is now tracking more west, CTN News meteorologist Jaclyn St James said the worst of the weather is on the east side of the system.

“The outer bands (are) already starting to move in across parts of the Florida Straits in the Upper Keys this morning,” St James said.

Cuban officials evacuated 180,000 people as a precaution against the possibility of heavy flooding from a storm that already battered several Caribbean islands, killing at least three people.

Elsa is forecast to cross over Cuba by Monday night and then head for Florida, where a state of emergency has been declared in 15 counties, including in Monroe County and Miami-Dade County.

While Surfside is not in the cone of concern, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered the remaining structure left behind of the Champlain Towers South condominium to be demolished overnight due to safety concerns that would only be exasperated by gusty winds.

Forecasters say the storm will weaken some while crossing over Cuba, but is likely to strengthen slightly as it moves toward Florida.

Elsa was the Atlantic season’s first hurricane before weakening into a tropical storm.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the Cuban provinces of Cienfuegos and Matanzas.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the Cuban province of Camaguey.

Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for the following areas:

· The Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara, Mayabeque and Havana.

· The Florida Keys from Craig Key westward to the Dry Tortugas

· West coast of Florida from Flamingo to Englewood.

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for the west coast of Florida from Bonita Beach to the Suwannee River.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the following areas:

· The Cuban province of Artemisa

· The Florida Keys from east of Craig Key to Ocean Reef

· Florida Bay

· West coast of Florida from Englewood northward to the Aucilla River.