Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

UPDATE: Erika Could Reorganize Over Gulf Of Mexico, Bring Rain To North Florida

FPREN

?

Update: 10 a.m. Sunday: The National Hurricane Center says there's a 40 percent chance Erika could redevelop in the Gulf of Mexico.  

Regardless of whether she becomes a tropical storm again, she promises to bring heavy rainfall to most of Florida early this week. The Tallahassee area and Jacksonville Beaches face the highest risk of rain.

Update: Saturday 4 p.m.: 

Tropical Storm Erika proved to be no match for the volatile conditions aloft and the mountainous terrain of Hispaniola. 

As of 9:30 a.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center issued its final advisory on the tropical cyclone, stating that hurricane hunters were unable to find an organized center of circulation.

They did mention, however, it is still possible the remnants of the system could regenerate into a tropical depression or storm when it moves into the eastern Gulf of Mexico. If this were to occur, forecast data suggests the disturbance would move on more of a northerly track toward the Florida Panhandle by Tuesday.

Heavy rain and potential flooding continues to be the biggest concern with Erika's remnants.  The system is likely to interact with a nearby trough of low pressure presently over the northeastern Gulf, and the two could team up to produce rainfall amounts of two to five inches for much of Florida over the next few days.  

The heaviest rain is most likely to occur in Southwest Florida on Sunday, then spread into central and North Florida Monday and Tuesday.  

In some locations, especially along the west coast of the peninsula, rainfall totals could exceed five inches. This could prove problematic for areas near Tampa, where inland flooding occurred a few weeks ago and rivers and creeks are still at elevated levels.  

Other than the heavy rainfall, any impacts from Erika's remnants as it relates to wind or storm surge should be minimal. However, beach-goers should be aware of an increased risk for rip currents and high surf for much of the upcoming week until the storm system passes.

Jeff Huffman is Chief Meteorologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. In addition to his full-time position at the university's radio and television stations, WUFT-FM/TV and WRUF-TV, the latter of which he co-founded, Huffman also provides weather coverage to public radio stations throughout Florida