‘Boomerang’ storm Fay still can do more serious damage around the state, weather experts say

Editor’s Note: Because of coverage of Tropical Storm Fay, the Florida Courier’s weekly series, Obama Watch, will not run in this issue. It will return next week.

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

While many residents in the state considered Tropical Storm Fay a rainy nuisance, it proved to be a serious weather issue in many Florida counties. Torrential rain, strong wind gusts and power outages were reported throughout the state. And forecasters say the “boomerang’’ storm hasn’t let up yet.

Emergency officials were using airboats to rescue people from their homes Wednesday in St. Lucie County after Fay dumped heavy rain and caused flooding in southeast Florida.

Though it flooded streets in Naples on Tuesday, downed trees and plunged some 95,000 homes and businesses in the dark, most Floridians thought they had dodged a bullet. The storm’s wrath also resulted in 51 homes being hit by a tornado in Brevard County. Nine of the homes were totaled, said Brevard County Emergency Operations Center spokesman David Waters.

Thousands of homes damaged in St. Lucie
Two injuries were reported in the Brevard County tornado, and a kite surfer who was caught in a gust of wind Monday was critically injured when he slammed into a building in front of the beach near Fort Lauderdale. Kevin Kearney, 28, was in critical condition Tuesday, Broward General

Medical Center officials and his family said.

In addition, as many as 8,000 homes in two lowlying areas may have been damaged, the St. Lucie County Public Safety Department said. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” Sheriff Ken Mascara said.

The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reported that Fay would remain on its northerly track through Wednesday night, the Florida Courier’s press time, then turn toward the west on Thursday, probably making a rare third landfall south of St. Augustine Beach.

3 U.S. landfalls uncommon
This storm is going to be with us for a while,” Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said. “Looks like it could be a boomerang storm.”

AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist John Kocet said three landfalls in the U.S. is not common but has happened before. “The turn toward the west Thursday can be attributed to a dome of high pressure centered over the Northeast, which is blocking the normal northward movement of the storm,” he said Wednesday.

Fay first hit the Florida Keys, veered out to sea and then traversed east across the state on a path that would curve it toward to the Florida-Georgia border. The failure of Fay to weaken meant a whole new swath of the state had to prepare for a worse storm.

Tropical storms not to be taken lightly
Eric Blake, a specialist at the National Hurricane Center, urged Floridians not to focus too much on whether Fay was a tropical storm or a hurricane, because either one can cause damage.

“A strong tropical storm can be very significant,” he said, pointing to wind damage in the state’s interior and the possibility of flooding from up to 15 inches expected in parts of central Florida.

Fay formed last weekend in the Atlantic and was blamed for 14 deaths in the Caribbean before hitting Florida.

The storm’s surprising path came after Florida officials pulled off all the stops to get ready, prompting some grousing among state residents that they had overreacted to what was expected to be a minor storm.

State defends its preparation efforts
Crist declared a state of emergency two days before the storm even arrived, schools closed well in advance of the rain, and 25,000 tourists in the Florida Keys were told to pack up their beach blankets and go home.

State officials defended the preparations Tuesday, and National Guard troops and storm supplies remained in reserve if needed.

“I don’t know how that can be considered alarmist when we’re just really trying to tell people. This is Florida. You got a system out there, you’ve got to respect it, you’ve got to get ready,” said Craig Fugate, the state’s emergency management director.

The Associated Press and CNN were used in compiling this report.