Unpredictable Tropical Storm Fay on a path of its own
Unpredictable Tropical Storm Fay on a path of its own
As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, Fay was categorized a tropical storm by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service, but despite that, hurricane warnings were posted in most south Florida counties before the storm came ashore late Monday. The postings were removed Tuesday morning when it failed to reach the 74 mph threshold that would have pushed it to hurricane status.
Tropical Storm Fay slammed into Florida twice since Monday night -- once into the Florida Keys, then skirting north and hitting the southwest coast. The National Weather Service's 1 p.m. Tuesday report said the storm was predicted to continue delivering tropical storm strength winds of up to 60 mph gusts and dumping rain in its path. It was located about 25 miles south of Brighton in Highlands County and about 45 miles east of Fort Myers. It was moving toward the north-northeast at nearly 8 mph.
Forecast models showed the storm headed to the Atlantic Ocean. A front paused over the Southeast could, according to some predictions, cause it to turn back again toward Florida -- which would give it three hits in the state. But some weather forecasters predicted that it would enter land further north, in Georgia or South Carolina. Yet a few others said that the front is strong enough to keep the storm heading west, crossing the Gulf of Mexico, gaining strength and living up to its previous claim of a hurricane, thereby putting a Gulf state or Mexico at higher risk.
This storm that has a mind of its own dumped a lot of rain across Florida on Monday and Tuesday. Growers in the state had not yet had a chance to asses crops, which are all at the early planting stage, but concerns remain high about tomato-planting-material losses, including plastics, fertilizers and fumigants, all of which are far more expensive than the plants alone.
A good, healthy rainfall, especially if it helps to pump up the water level of Lake Okeechobee, however, would not be bad news for the southern Florida agricultural industry. The region has suffered a serious drought in the past couple of years, and the lake supplies the total irrigation water.
Late Tuesday morning, Nichole Towell, marketing development manager for A. Duda & Sons in Oviedo, FL, said, "The storm is right now over our facilities in south Florida and has not yet cleared or passed. We have received about nine inches of rain and many tornadoes. It's still a pretty scary situation here. We probably will not have an assessment of our farms or our facilities until tomorrow. The storm should pass through south Florida by 10 p.m. tonight."
"We have received only anecdotal reports so far," Lisa Lochridge, director of public affairs for the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association in Maitland, FL, told The Produce News Tuesday afternoon. "The Immokalee area got eight to 10 inches of rain, which is a good soaking for sure. But no reports of significant damage have been received at this point. I think it will be a matter of seeing if all that water causes a problem, and we don't know that yet. The storm is still sitting over south Florida, and it's moving pretty slowly."
Tropical Storm Fay slammed into Florida twice since Monday night -- once into the Florida Keys, then skirting north and hitting the southwest coast. The National Weather Service's 1 p.m. Tuesday report said the storm was predicted to continue delivering tropical storm strength winds of up to 60 mph gusts and dumping rain in its path. It was located about 25 miles south of Brighton in Highlands County and about 45 miles east of Fort Myers. It was moving toward the north-northeast at nearly 8 mph.
Forecast models showed the storm headed to the Atlantic Ocean. A front paused over the Southeast could, according to some predictions, cause it to turn back again toward Florida -- which would give it three hits in the state. But some weather forecasters predicted that it would enter land further north, in Georgia or South Carolina. Yet a few others said that the front is strong enough to keep the storm heading west, crossing the Gulf of Mexico, gaining strength and living up to its previous claim of a hurricane, thereby putting a Gulf state or Mexico at higher risk.
This storm that has a mind of its own dumped a lot of rain across Florida on Monday and Tuesday. Growers in the state had not yet had a chance to asses crops, which are all at the early planting stage, but concerns remain high about tomato-planting-material losses, including plastics, fertilizers and fumigants, all of which are far more expensive than the plants alone.
A good, healthy rainfall, especially if it helps to pump up the water level of Lake Okeechobee, however, would not be bad news for the southern Florida agricultural industry. The region has suffered a serious drought in the past couple of years, and the lake supplies the total irrigation water.
Late Tuesday morning, Nichole Towell, marketing development manager for A. Duda & Sons in Oviedo, FL, said, "The storm is right now over our facilities in south Florida and has not yet cleared or passed. We have received about nine inches of rain and many tornadoes. It's still a pretty scary situation here. We probably will not have an assessment of our farms or our facilities until tomorrow. The storm should pass through south Florida by 10 p.m. tonight."
"We have received only anecdotal reports so far," Lisa Lochridge, director of public affairs for the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association in Maitland, FL, told The Produce News Tuesday afternoon. "The Immokalee area got eight to 10 inches of rain, which is a good soaking for sure. But no reports of significant damage have been received at this point. I think it will be a matter of seeing if all that water causes a problem, and we don't know that yet. The storm is still sitting over south Florida, and it's moving pretty slowly."
