Monroe County Emergency Management Director Cory Schwisow joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the county.
It’s important for residents to remain weather-aware as the Florida Keys recover from last week’s heavy rainfall and emergency officials monitor a developing system in the Gulf of Mexico.
Schwisow said the combination of heavy rain and elevated king tides created significant flooding concerns across the Keys last week.
“We could have the possibility of some heavy rain combined with king tide,” Schwisow said. “When you have large rain events on top of elevated tides, there’s really nowhere for that water to go.”
The Keys received an estimated three to five inches of rain over a relatively short period, with Key West seeing particularly significant impacts.
Schwisow said emergency officials are also looking ahead to the winter months, when an El Niño pattern could contribute to strong storms and severe weather.
The Keys already saw an example of the type of weather that can develop quickly when a strong system moves through the area. Schwisow pointed to a recent waterspout near Key Largo that moved ashore and caused property damage.
“That water spout removed the roof on the porch and gently deposited it into a tree a block away or two blocks away,” Schwisow said. “That happened very, very quickly.”
He urged residents to pay attention to weather forecasts and take shelter when severe weather is possible.
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring a system in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico that Schwisow said had an increased chance of developing into a tropical system.
He said the system could move toward the Alabama or Florida Panhandle area, although current projections indicated it should remain well away from the Florida Keys.
“These are the type of storms that really get our attention this time of year,” Schwisow said.
Residents should not become overly focused on individual forecast models when watching a developing storm. He pointed to Hurricane Irma as an example of how a storm’s eventual path can differ from some early projections.
Instead, he encouraged residents to pay attention to the National Hurricane Center’s forecast area and understand that a storm can potentially travel anywhere within the projected cone.
“If you’re in that cone, you need to make protective actions for you and your family,” Schwisow said.
He said storms can also accelerate rapidly once they turn north, leaving residents with relatively little time to prepare.
“If it’s down there in the Caribbean, we only have about 48 hours until we’re going to be impacted by tropical storm force winds,” Schwisow said.
Monroe County Emergency Management works closely with the National Weather Service, and Schwisow said those communications will become even more frequent during the winter.
“We’re going to be meeting with the National Weather Service on a weekly basis to really talk about some of the storm threats that we may have this winter,” he said.
Schwisow also cautioned that the effects of tropical systems are not limited to coastal areas.
He pointed to recent heavy rainfall in the central United States, noting that tropical moisture can travel far inland and contribute to flooding, heavy rain and even snow in mountainous areas.
“Just because these storms are hitting a coastal area, it really could bring catastrophic flooding to our interior states,” Schwisow said.
With Fantasy Fest, the boat races and the holiday season approaching, Schwisow said emergency management officials will continue working with local agencies and residents to keep people informed.
“We’ll keep everybody informed, and hopefully we have a dry and safe festival season that’s coming up here with Fantasy Fest and boat races and the holidays,” Schwisow said.
For more information, click here: http://www.monroecountyem.com/1324/Emergency-Management/