Escambia, Santa Rosa counties under state of emergency ahead of Invest 97L. What we know
Gov. Ron DeSantis put most of Florida under a state of emergency, including Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, in preparation for the potential landfall of Invest 97L, which could become a "significant threat" to the state over the next week.
Meteorologists have been tracking the tropical wave, which is currently moving over Hispaniola, over the past week and believe it could develop into a tropical depression by the weekend or early next week.
"Based on meteorological reports, there is significant threat of heavy rainfall over most of the State of Florida, with the possibility of at least 12 inches of rainfall over the next seven days," reads the Thursday evening executive order. "The water tables in the affected areas are already nearing peak capacity and incoming heavy rainfall will cause significant river flooding that may last for several weeks."
In a Thursday afternoon advisory, the National Hurricane Center said there's a 70% chance that the well-defined tropical wave could develop into a tropical depression in the week near Florida or over the eastern Gulf of Mexico, with some of the first Invest 97L spaghetti models backing up the claim.
If the storm does develop into a tropical depression and reaches sustained wind speeds of 39 mph, it would become Tropical Storm Debby.
List of Florida counties under state of emergency for Invest 97L
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.
Why did DeSantis declare a state of emergency for Invest 97L?
Declaring a state of emergency allows state and local governments much more freedom to coordinate their emergency agencies, relax restrictions, cut through red tape and reallocate resources to quickly deal with an imminent or ongoing threat that local services can't handle on their own.
Will Invest 97L head toward the Gulf Coast?
"The latest models show it going into the eastern Gulf and then exploding there," said AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok.
"There is low steering flow in the eastern Gulf so once it gets there, it's kind of stuck and over warm water, it can intensify. At this point, it can go almost anywhere. There's just nothing in the Gulf to steer it and there's very concerning.
"I don't trust it and don't like it. Residents from Louisiana to Florida's West Coast and Panhandle have to be ready in case it rapidly intensifies. And if it sits there (in the Gulf) it can intensify. The slower it moves, the stronger it can become."
Pastelok said forecasters will have a better idea of what will happen once the invest moves through the Caribbean islands and mountains, which could slow development and organization.
"Sunday, it could blow up in the eastern Gulf."
Meteorologists have also warned that the impending tropical wave will begin churning waters in the Gulf of Mexico, which will produce stronger rip currents at a greater frequency as it approaches.
Spaghetti models: Invest 97L moving toward Florida
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are giving out sand ahead of Invest 97L
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties began distributing sand to residents on Thursday. Sandbags can be effective tools in mitigating flooding from rain, but not for storm surge. Residents must bring their own sandbags and shovels.
Sand in Escambia County:
Baars Field Athletic Park - 13001 Sorrento Road, Pensacola
Brent Athletic Park - 4711 N. W St., Pensacola
Don Sutton Park - 2320 Crabtree Church Road, Molino
Equestrian Center - 7750 Mobile Highway, Pensacola
Escambia County Road Department - 601 Highway 297-A, Pensacola
Ferry Pass Middle School - 8355 Yancey Lane, Pensacola (sand will be on the northwest corner of school property on Parazine Street)
John R. Jones Jr. Athletic Park - 555 E. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola
Travis M. Nelson Park - 4541 County Road 4, Pensacola
Sand in Santa Rosa County:
The corner of Leisure St. and Citrus Dr. in Navarre
Tiger Point Park in Gulf Breeze (1370 Tiger Park Ln.)
Pace Fire-Rescue in Pace (4773 Pace Patriot Blvd.)
The corner of Pine Forest Rd. and Carroll Rd. in Milton
Sign up for local weather alerts
The Pensacola News Journal serves its community by reporting on every storm – big or small – to ensure residents are aware of potential hazards and so they can make informed decisions when a hurricane is coming. Downloading our pnj.com app and signing up for push alerts is a great way to stay on top of the latest developments in the Atlantic.
Pensacola area residents should also sign up for emergency alerts and know where to find the latest.
Following the city of Pensacola's alerts is simple. You can visit this page to sign up for a whole host of notifications. Scroll down to "Alert Center" to find the emergency alerts. Here you can subscribe to emergency and weather alerts via email and text message. You can also click to view previous messages.
If you live in Escambia County, you can visit myescambia.com and scroll down to the "BeReady Escambia" card. At the bottom of the card, you can click to view storm updates and sign up for alerts. When you sign up for alerts, you'll be prompted to choose from a list. Emergency updates should be preselected (double check that it is). Enter your email at the bottom of the pop-up and click the subscribe button to wrap up.
Santa Rosa County uses the AlertSantaRosa system to provide residents with critical information related to severe weather, evacuations, protective actions and more. Click here to jump over to the public warnings page. You will be taken to a new page that will provide you with information on how to sign up for public notifications, including how to sign up anonymously for emergency-only notifications.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Invest 97L: Escambia, Santa Rosa under state of emergency
