TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency for 33 counties ahead of a tropical disturbance we are monitoring in the Gulf. The declaration includes Big Bend Counties.
This preemptive measure allows the state's emergency management department to get ready, and the governor has urged Gulf Coast residents to do the same.
“I signed an Executive Order issuing a state of emergency out of an abundance of caution to ensure that the Florida Division of Emergency Management can begin staging resources and Floridians have plenty of time to prepare their families for a storm next week,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “I encourage Floridians to have a plan in place and ensure that their hurricane supply kit is stocked.”
Full List:
- Alachua
- Bay
- Calhoun
- Charlotte
- Citrus
- Columbia
- DeSoto
- Dixie
- Franklin
- Gadsden
- Gilchrist
- Gulf
- Hamilton
- Hardee
- Hernando
- Hillsborough
- Jefferson
- Lafayette
- Lee
- Leon
- Levy
- Liberty
- Madison
- Manatee
- Marion
- Pasco
- Pinellas
- Polk
- Sarasota
- Sumter
- Suwannee
- Taylor
- Wakulla
While forecast trends continue to vary quite widely in how things evolve, several longer-range projections show this area of moisture eventually making a northward move into the southeastern Gulf early next week.
Closer to the Florida/Georgia line region, a broad area of low pressure is forecast to enter the Southeastern U.S. from the continental north early next week. The position of a cold front in the Deep South will play a role in the eventual path of the tropical low as its moisture streams into the eastern Gulf through Tuesday.
