DeSantis Declares Storm Emergency

[National Weather Service Jacksonville]

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday declared a state of emergency for 54 counties, most along the Gulf Coast and in northern Florida, as a tropical wave with a high chance of strengthening into a more-threatening storm was on a path that could reach the state this weekend. The declaration was for Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton and Washington counties. DeSantis’ order, in part, directed Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie to coordinate the state’s approach to the storm and any recovery operations. The National Hurricane Center said the wave, called Invest 97L, caused showers and thunderstorms over Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and the Southeastern Bahamas on Thursday afternoon. Development of the system is expected to be slow while it moves over parts of the Greater Antilles. But the hurricane center said conditions are conducive for the storm to develop into a tropical depression after clearing the Greater Antilles and move into the eastern Gulf of Mexico this weekend or early next week.