TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — After being a highlight in recent tropical trends over the last couple of weeks, the resulting Hurricane Rafael slammed into western Cuba as the season's latest major hurricane.
What are the projections for Rafael to cause issues here in the Big Bend area?
With the core of the storm set to turn to the west while in the southern reaches of the Gulf of Mexico, and with the storm being relatively compact, the effects to be experienced along our shores continue to be minimized.
We've seen the general feed of tropical moisture flowing ahead of the hurricane, reaching our region Wednesday in the form of clouds and periods of showers and rain. A separate system in the Southeast enhanced the rain intensity in southern Georgia, causing concerns for flooding and flash flooding. However, the Wednesday night local rain is not a direct cause from, nor directly connected to, Hurricane Rafael.
By Friday, that flow of tropical moisture will decrease over the local region and consolidate closer to the circulation of Rafael.
Waves generated by the winds in Rafael had been upwards of 15 to 20 feet in height in the southern Gulf. As Rafael maintains hurricane level when it moves west by Friday, those swells across the eastern Gulf can result in some choppier conditions in Apalachee Bay. Seas beyond 20 nautical miles can experience swells to nine feet Thursday night and Friday.
Disruptive wind gusts over land are not anticipated. Breezes well offshore (beyond 20 nautical miles) may approach 35 knots.
