Satellite image of Tropical Storm Elsa. Image courtesy of NOAA ( AP ).Florida is bracing for strong winds, high rainfalls, potentially life-threatening storm surges and isolated tornadoes as Tropical Storm Elsa moves northward. This is the latest indication that climate-driven extreme weather poses a serious threat.AdvertisementElsa struck the Caribbean islands over the weekend and killed at least three people in St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic. Elsa made landfall Monday in central Cuba and brought heavy rains and minor flooding. Since then, Elsa is moving up through the Gulf of Mexico, gaining strength.Meteorologists recorded gusts of over 50 miles per an hour in Key West Tuesday morning. According to the Associated Press storms maximum sustained winds were 60 miles per an hour as of Tuesday morning.According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm is expected move close to the Florida Keys on Tuesday. It will then pass over or near portions of Florida's west coast Tuesday and Wednesday. According to the NHC, it could cause severe storm surges and even tornadoes. Elsas' path will continue to the south coast of the East Coast over the next week, and reach New Jersey by Friday.On Tuesday morning, heavy rains and strong winds began to batter the Florida Keys area and Southwest Florida. Things will only get worse.Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the entire state's west coast, including the Florida Keys from Craig Key to the Dry Tortugas. Governor Ron DeSantis extended a state-of-emergency on Monday to include 26 of the 67 counties in the states.AdvertisementThe White House approved an emergency declaration of state for the storm ahead of it, which began on July 4. The order allows the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate disaster relief efforts.Hillsborough, Pinellas and Hernando counties along the Gulf coast opened shelters to help residents prepare. Hernando County issued a voluntary evacuation notice.AdvertisementBoth local utilities, Tampa Electric and Duke Energy, have crews available to restore power in case of an outage. Florida Power & Light says it has activated its emergency response program and has 6,000 workers ready to respond.The fifth named storm of 2021 is Tropical Storm Elsa. It marks the first fifth named storm ever recorded and beats the record set last year. Elsa became the first Atlantic hurricane on Friday as it approached Barbados. As a result of the climate crisis, storms are more common in this year's early part of the year.AdvertisementAs search and rescue crews try to locate survivors or remains of victims from the Surfside condo building collapse, Florida, the storm is likely to strike Florida. Unfortunately, workers have been forced to suspend their search due to the possibility of tornadoes and flooding.Elsa continues to bring heavy rains down to Cuba. NHC forecasts rainfall of 5-10 inches (13-25 centimeters) and isolated maximums of 15 inches (338 centimeters), which could lead to significant flash flooding or mudslides.AdvertisementElsa is just the beginning of what's expected to be a very destructive hurricane seasonone that has a 60% chance to be more active than a normal one, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. While Elsa is bad, it may be a warm up act.
