MACON, Ga. — Elsa, the fifth named tropical system of the 2021 Atlantic season, is a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 85 mph. The storm is forecasted to maintain hurricane strength as it heads through the Caribbean Sea.
Most of our counties in Central Georgia are now in Elsa's cone of uncertainty.
Elsa is expected to traverse the Caribbean as a category 1 hurricane over the next few days, missing Hispaniola to its north and Jamaica to its south, eventually making landfall on Cuba.
The National Hurricane Center is expecting it to weaken to a tropical storm once moving over Cuba, but intensity forecasts are extremely volatile.
Florida could begin feeling impacts as early as Monday in places like Key West and Fort Myers. The entire west coast of Florida, from southwest Florida to near Perdido Key is in play to see impacts including heavy rain, gusty winds, and strong rip currents.
As for central Georgia, it remains to be seen what our impacts will be. We are talking about a storm five days out, and we need to see more consistency in the models before any firm forecasts are made. However, if we see anything from Elsa, it looks to be in the Wednesday-Thursday timeframe.
For all of your tropics updates, stay with the 13WMAZ weather team on-air and online.
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