DeSantis says Elsa likely to become Category 1 hurricane before hitting Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Tuesday that Tropical Storm Elsa will likely become a Category 1 hurricane before it makes landfall in Florida on Wednesday.

DeSantis said more than 20 counties are under tropical storm warnings, 33 countries are under a state of emergency and 12 are facing storm surge warnings, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

The governor told Fox New that Elsa already passed Key West and other areas where only power outages and flooding occurred.

However, the storm could strengthen to a hurricane by the time it hits Florida’s Big Bend region on Wednesday morning, the governor said.

.@GovRonDeSantis on Florida’s preparations ahead of Elsa pic.twitter.com/zx8hLHz5nt

— Neil Cavuto (@TeamCavuto) July 6, 2021

Elsa was previously a hurricane in the Caribbean and became the first hurricane of the Atlantic season. It weakened as it moved up to Florida but is starting to gain some speed and hurricane-like winds again.

The National Hurricane Center has implemented a hurricane warning for the west coast of Florida.

A tornado watch is also in effect for South Florida due to Elsa. 

July 6th at 2:00pm – A Tornado Watch is now in effect for all of South Florida as #Elsa continues to move northwards offshore of the west coast of Florida. Stay weather aware and have a way to receive alerts for your area! https://t.co/Hna3Hl5bZ9 pic.twitter.com/Hwb3DiRsY0

— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) July 6, 2021

“This is not a time to joy ride. You do have hazardous conditions out there,” DeSantis said.

The bad weather has already impeded search and rescue efforts at the site of the collapsed condo building in Surfside, Fla., with a brief pause occurring Tuesday morning.