WTUS82 KMLB 222153 HLSMLB AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147- 230400- HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 550 PM EDT SAT OCT 22 2005 ...HURRICANE WATCH ISSUED FOR EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FROM TITUSVILLE SOUTHWARD AND FOR ALL OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE...TROPICAL STORM WATCH ISSUED FROM TITUSVILLE NORTHWARD TO FERNANDINA BEACH... ...WATCHES AND WARNINGS... AN INLAND HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR OKEECHOBEE...OSCEOLA AND ORANGE COUNTIES. AN INLAND TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR LAKE...SEMINOLE AND INTERIOR VOLUSIA COUNTIES. ...AREAS AFFECTED... THIS STATEMENT RECOMMENDS ACTIONS THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN IN BREVARD...VOLUSIA...SAINT LUCIE...MARTIN...INDIAN RIVER... OKEECHOBEE...ORANGE...SEMINOLE...VOLUSIA AND LAKE COUNTIES. ...STORM INFORMATION... AT 5 PM THE CENTER OF HURRICANE WILMA WAS LOCATED ABOUT 400 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF KEY WEST FLORIDA. WILMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 2 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 100 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA WITHIN 36 HOURS. HURRICANE WILMA IS EXPECTED TO APPROACH THE SOUTHWEST COAST OF FLORIDA VERY EARLY ON MONDAY AND THEN ACCELERATE VERY RAPIDLY ACROSS THE FLORIDA PENINSULA DURING THE DAY ON MONDAY. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT ALL PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY BE COMPLETED DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY AS WEATHER WILL BE DETERIORATING RAPIDLY LATE ON SUNDAY. CHECK WITH COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR THE LOCATIONS OF SHELTERS ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND PEOPLE LIVING IN MANUFACTURED OR MOBILE HOMES. BREVARD COUNTY HAS ISSUED A MANDATORY EVACUATION OF MOBILE AND MANUFACTURED HOMES AND WILL BE OPENING SHELTERS AT 10 AM SUNDAY. DO NOT FOCUS ON THE EXACT TRACK OF WILMA AS THE AREA OF GREATEST IMPACT WILL NOT BE KNOWN UNTIL MONDAY MORNING. IF YOU ARE IN THE WATCH AREA IMPLEMENT YOUR HURRICANE AND TROPICAL STORM PLANS AND BE PREPARED FOR THE ISSUANCE OF WARNINGS LATER TONIGHT OR EARLY SUNDAY. ...WIND IMPACTS... THE GREATEST OVERALL THREAT FROM WILMA ACROSS EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA IS LIKELY TO BE FROM DESTRUCTIVE WIND. THE TROPICAL STORM FORCE WIND FIELD IS VERY LARGE WITH WILMA. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN ACROSS OKEECHOBEE...OSCEOLA...MARTIN...SAINT LUCIE AND INDIAN RIVER COUNTIES VERY EARLY MONDAY MORNING AND SPREAD ACROSS BREVARD...ORANGE...LAKE...SEMINOLE...AND VOLUSIA COUNTIES AROUND 8 AM. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT OKEECHOBEE...MARTIN...SOUTHERN OSCEOLA AND ST LUCIE COUNTIES BY MID MORNING AND SPREAD INTO INDIAN RIVER AND SOUTHERN BREVARD COUNTIES BY LATE MORNING. BECAUSE THE OF THE RAPID MOVEMENT OF WILMA WINDS WILL BE HIGHEST IMMEDIATELY NEAR THE CENTER AND TO THE RIGHT. IT IS LIKELY A BAND OF VERY DESTRUCTIVE WINDS WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 100 MPH WILL MOVE ACROSS THE PENINSULA MONDAY MORNING. THE LOCATIONS THAT MAY EXPERIENCE THE GREATEST WIND IMPACT WILL NOT BE KNOWN UNTIL MONDAY MORNING AND BY THAT TIME WILMA WILL BE MOVING VERY FAST. DO NOT FOCUS ON THE EXACT CENTER TRACK. IF YOU ARE IN THE WATCH AREA TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON AND BEGIN WEAKENING RAPIDLY BY LATE AFTERNOON AS WILMA CONTINUES TO MOVE OFFSHORE INTO THE ATLANTIC. ...TORNADO IMPACTS... LATE SEASON TROPICAL CYCLONES APPROACHING FLORIDA FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO HAVE A GREATER RISK OF PRODUCING STRONG TORNADOES ESPECIALLY WHEN INTERACTING WITH FRONTAL BOUNDARIES AND FAST FORWARD SPEED AS IS ANTICIPATED WITH WILMA. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE WITH OUTER RAINBANDS SUNDAY AND THEN TORNADO THREAT WILL INCREASE LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND BE THE HIGHEST WITH THE APPROACH OF THE CENTRAL RAINBANDS OF WILMA EARLY MONDAY AND CONTINUING INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON. TORNADO WATCHES WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED ON SUNDAY. RESIDENTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR THE ISSUANCE OF TORNADO WARNINGS SUNDAY AND MONDAY AND TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY. ...FLOOD IMPACTS... BECAUSE OF THE EXPECTED FAST MOVEMENT OF WILMA WIDESPREAD EXCESSIVE RAINFALL IS NOT EXPECTED. HOWEVER...RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF SEVERAL INCHES MAY OCCUR IN HEAVY SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING AND AGAIN SUNDAY EVENING AHEAD OF WILMA. IN ADDITION... THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF BOUNDARIES SETTING UP IN OUTER RAINBANDS THAT MAY LEAD TO TRAINING OF SHOWERS AND LOCALLY EXCESSIVE RAINFALL. WHILE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PINPOINT EXACTLY WHERE THIS MIGHT OCCUR ...IT APPEARS THAT THE COASTAL COUNTIES WILL BE ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE TO TRAINING OF SHOWERS RESULTING IN EXCESSIVE RAINFALL AMOUNTS. IF YOU LIVE IN A FLOOD PRONE AREA OR IN AN AREA THAT ARE ALREADY EXPERIENCING DRAINAGE ISSUES TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. ...STORM SURGE FLOOD AND STORM TIDE IMPACTS... BECAUSE OF THE ANTICIPATED RAPID MOVEMENT OF WILMA AND THE MOVEMENT OFFSHORE INTO THE ATLANTIC STORM SURGE AND COASTAL FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE OF GREAT IMPACT. A STORM TIDE OF PERHAPS 3 OR 4 FEET IS POSSIBLE NEAR THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE AROUND MID DAY MONDAY NORTH OF WHERE THE CENTER OF WILMA MOVES OFFSHORE. EXTREMELY ROUGH SURF... BEACH EROSION AND DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS CAN BE EXPECTED ALONG ALL OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA BEACHES AS WILMA MOVES OUT INTO THE ATLANTIC AND CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL DAYS. ...MARINE IMPACTS... THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM FOR MARINERS DUE TO ITS RAPID ACCELERATION FROM THE SOUTHWEST ON MONDAY. MARINE CONDITIONS WILL BECOME HAZARDOUS DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY WITH BUILDING SEAS AND THEN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ON MONDAY AS WILMA MOVES INTO THE COASTAL WATERS PERHAPS MOVING AS FAST AS 30 KNOTS. MARINERS SHOULD REMAIN IN PORT. ...NEXT UPDATE... REGULAR ISSUANCE OF THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED UNTIL AFTER WILMA PASSES. ALL HAZARDOUS WEATHER INFORMATION FOR EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA WILL BE CONTAINED IN HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENTS. THE NEXT HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY NWS MELBOURNE BY MIDNIGHT OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT. A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT CAN BE VIEWED ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBPAGE AT... WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MLB AND CLICKING ON WILMA LOCAL INFO. $$ HAGEMEYER