4 things Sarasota-Manatee residents should know about tropical system approaching Gulf Coast
What the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration anticipates will be an “above-normal” hurricane season began this week with Hurricane Agatha, which was the strongest May hurricane to make landfall along the Pacific coast of Mexico since 1949, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.
As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center forecasts the remnants of Agatha will likely head into the Gulf of Mexico and develop into a tropical depression.
Current predictions show there is a good chance the storm system will hit the Gulf Coast of Florida.
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Is the storm called Agatha or Alex?
There are three lists of hurricane names each year — one for storms that begin in the eastern Pacific Ocean, one for storms in the central Pacific, and one for storms that originate in the Atlantic basin.
Hurricane Agatha was the first named storm of the season in the eastern Pacific, but if the hurricane's remnants reform into a storm system in the Gulf of Mexico, it will gain the first name on the Atlantic hurricane list: Alex.
Will Agatha/Alex hit Sarasota and Manatee counties? When?
There is a lot of uncertainty due to the current weakness of the system, a common limiting factor during the early stages of hurricane season. As of Wednesday morning, the NHC has Sarasota and Manatee counties in the middle of the projected path of the storm system and some hurricane models show Southwest Florida as a likely area of impact.
According to the NHC, Agatha/Alex's effects will most likely be felt in Florida over the coming weekend.
What impact will Agatha/Alex have in Sarasota-Manatee?
Heavy rainfall is forecast for Central and South Florida, according to SNN Chief Meteorologist Justin Mosley.
"It's very difficult to know if it's going to be a subtropical or tropical storm or even just a depression," Mosely said, but he expects tropical squalls (which include higher wind gusts and rain bands) to form.
According to current NHC advisories, "locally heavy rainfall is likely across portions of southeastern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Belize during the next day or so, spreading across western Cuba, South Florida, and the Florida Keys on Friday and Saturday."
What should Sarasota and Manatee counties do to prepare for Agatha/Alex?
According to Manatee County Emergency Management Coordinator Tristan Morath, Alex’s path should serve as a reminder for residents to prepare for hurricane season.
“Absolutely,” Morath said on whether residents should be preparing now. “We always try to get our residents to prepare as early as possible, whether there's a storm out there brewing or not.”
Morath said that residents should prepare “go kits” with food, water, clothing and medical supplies, and have cash and important documentation on hand. He also noted that the state has a sales tax holiday until June 10, giving residents the chance to purchase crucial supplies tax-free.
When it comes to evacuations, Morath stressed that “we try to tell people to evacuate tens of miles, not hundreds of miles or thousands of miles.” Residents should try to stay with nearby friends or family, and avoid going to other states.
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Mosley also had some words of advice, saying, "residents should know how to use their shutters if they have them. If they do not have shutters, they should have plywood to cover up their windows," and encouraging people to check whether their address is in an evacuation zone.
Mosley said that those topics are unlikely to become important this weekend, but remain important as hurricane season moves along.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 4 things to know about former Hurricane Agatha, Alex and Sarasota-Manatee
