Tropical Storm Emily 2017 Updates: Weather Disturbance Expected to Bring More Rains Despite Downgrade to Depression
Despite having been downgraded to a depression last night, Tropical Storm Emily is expected to bring heavy rains to Southern Florida and may gain strength as it moves away from the American state.
According to reports, forecasters have said that the center of the now-Tropical Depression Emily would move over the Atlantic early today and may be back to its status as a Tropical Storm as it regains strength once it is over the ocean water.
"While it is positive news that this tropical storm has been downgraded to a tropical depression, we must remain vigilant," said Florida governor Rick Scott last night, July 31, as he warned drivers to avoid standing water left from heavy rains.
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Prior to the downgrade of Emily's status to a Tropical Depression, six Florida counties, including Pinellas, Sarasota, and Lee, were placed under Tropical Storm warning yesterday afternoon. According to the records of Scott's office, 7,868 residents were still without power as of Monday night, which is significantly lower as compared to the 18,000 affected by the power outage at the height of the Tropical Storm's onslaught.
Emily had its landfall on Anna Maria Island, an island off Florida's west coast, before 11 a.m. yesterday, July 31, with a wind of 45 mph. It also dumped 4 inches of rain in Sarasota, less than 2 inches in Naples, and less than an inch in Miami. The then-Tropical Storm also dumped a heavy amount of rain in some isolated areas, such as the town of Valrico, which accumulated as much as 8 inches of rain over 48 hours.
While Emily has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression, it is still expected to bring some rains today, Aug. 1, especially in the southern part of Florida, where localized flooding can still happen, according to Weather.com.
The overall weather is expected to improve later today.
