EMA director tells people to keep a watch over storm in the gulf that could become a hurricane
As of noon Wednesday, Escambia County Emergency Management Director David Adams said this area should not see the brunt of what is expected to become Hurricane Barry in the next few days, but said residents need to keep an eye on this unpredictable storm.
Monday morning, Adams addressed the Escambia County (Ala.) Commission about possible bad weather associated with a low pressure system in Georgia. Adams said the low-pressure system came from the midwest and began making a southern turn in Georgia heading toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Following an 11 a.m. conference call Wednesday with the National Weather Service in Mobile, Adams said the storm brewing in the gulf is predicted to become a hurricane before making landfall sometime Saturday. However, he said there was strong confidence that the hurricane would land in west Louisiana to east Texas.
“It can still change, but there is high confidence that we will be spared the worst of the storm,” Adams said.
He said the area could begin seeing rains from the storm today and Friday with estimates of 2 to 4 inches, but noted those estimates are dropping.
“As of right now the outlook looks good for us,” Adams said about noon Wednesday. “We could possibly use more rain than they are forecasting, but you need to be careful what you wish for.”
He said with the area on the outer bands of the storm, there still exists the chance of heavy thunderstorms and tornado activity.
“If it holds true, rain from the outer bands is what we can expect,” Adams said. “But there's a lot of room for change.”
When he addressed the county commission, Adams told them there was “a strange thing building” with the tropical depression coming out of Georgia.
Adams said although the National Weather Service is confident the storm will be west of the Alabama and Florida coast people need to pay attention to weather forecasts over the next several days.
“The one thing I've learned about storms is they are unpredictable,” Adams said. “Things have changed a lot since Monday and they will continue to change.”
