000 WTUS82 KMLB 041820 HLSMLB AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147- 042020- HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 220 PM EDT SAT SEP 4 2004 ...STRONG OUTER RAINBANDS WITH GUSTS TO HURRICANE STRENGTH POUNDING COASTAL INDIAN RIVER ST. LUCIE AND MARTIN COUNTIES... ...FRANCES NEAR STATIONARY OVER WEST END BAHAMAS EAST OF PALM BEACH... ...FLOOD WARNING FOR INDIAN RIVER...MARTIN...ST. LUCIE COUNTIES... ...HURRICANE WARNING FROM SOUTH OF FLAGLER BEACH TO FLORIDA CITY WHICH INCLUDES ALL OF THE EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA COAST... ...INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING FOR ALL INTERIOR COUNTIES OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA... ...FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY FOR ALL OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA... ...AREAS AFFECTED... THIS HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT RECOMMENDS ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY RESIDENTS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...VOLUSIA...LAKE...SEMINOLE... ORANGE...BREVARD...OSCEOLA...INDIAN RIVER...SAINT LUCIE...MARTIN AND OKEECHOBEE. ...WIND IMPACTS... HURRICANE FRANCES IS NEARLY STATIONARY AT 70 MILES EAST OF PALM BEACH. THE LACK OF MOVEMENT WILL INCREASE THE WIND AND RAIN DAMAGE THREAT TO THE AREA BETWEEN PALM BEACH AND VERO BEACH. PRECISTANT WINDS GUSTS FROM 80 TO 100 MPH HAVE BEEN REPORTED ON THE COAST. AT 125 PM...MELBOURNE WEATHER RADAR INDICATED AN INTENSIFYING SPIRAL RAINBAND ASSOCIATED WITH HURRICANE FRANCES OVER THE ATLANTIC 60 MILES EAST OF MELBOURNE TO JUST OFFSHORE SAINT LUCIE AND MARTIN COUNTIES. THE RAINBAND WILL PRODUCE SQUALLS WITH WIND GUSTS OF 80 MPH ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST OF SAINT LUCIE AND MARTIN COUNTIES... WITH 60 TO 80 MPH GUSTS LIKELY JUST INLAND FROM THE COAST THROUGH 230 PM. AN EVEN STRONGER RAINBAND WAS FORMING 25 TO 30 MILES OFFSHORE MARTIN COUNTY AND WILL PRODUCE WIND GUSTS NEAR 100 MPH TOWARD MID AFTERNOON ACROSS COASTAL MARTIN COUNTY. MOVE TO A SECURE LOCATION IN THE CENTER OF YOUR HOME PRIOR TO THE ONSET OF THESE DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS. ACROSS BREVARD COUNTY FROM CAPE CANAVERAL SOUTH AND OVER COASTAL INDIAN RIVER COUNTIES...WIND GUSTS OF 45 TO 50 MPH WILL CONTINUE WITH STEADY LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN. STRONGER WINDS WILL DEVELOP OVER THESE AREAS LATER THIS AFTERNOON. AT 2 PM WPTV IN PALM BEACH REPORTED THE ROOF COMING OFF A HOTEL...A COMMERCIAL SHOPPING PLAZA BUILDING DESTROYED AND PART OF A CAR DEALERSHIP BUILDING DESTROYED IN STUART. ...STORM SURGE FLOOD AND STORM TIDE IMPACTS... STORM SURGE MODELS USING THE OFFICIAL TRACK FORECAST INDICATE THAT FRANCES WILL BE MAKING LANDFALL DURING THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE AROUND MIDNIGHT TONIGHT BETWEEN JUPITER INLET AND CAPE CANAVERAL. THIS WOULD PRODUCE MAXIMUM STORM TIDES OF SEVEN OR EIGHT FEET NEAR AND TO THE RIGHT OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL...MOST LIKELY BREVARD AND INDIAN RIVER COUNTIES. NORTH OF CAPE CANAVERAL...A SURGE OF 3 TO 4 FEET IS LIKELY. BATTERING WAVES OF VERY LONG DURATION WILL BE OF GREAT CONCERN ALONG THE BEACHES. SIGNIFICANT WIND AND WAVE DAMAGE IS LIKELY IN THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY. ...FLOOD IMPACTS... A FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR INDIAN RIVER...ST LUCIE AND MARTIN COUNTIES THROUGH TONIGHT. A FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA COUNTIES THROUGH SUNDAY. A RADAR ESTIMATES BETWEEN ONE AND THREE INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN OVER THE WARNING AREA SINCE EARLY THIS MORNING. CONTINUOUS RAINFALL RATES OF BETWEEN ONE HALF AND ONE INCH PER HOUR ARE EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT 6 HOURS...RESULTING IN THE POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL RAINFALL TOTALS BETWEEN 3 AND 6 INCHES THROUGH EARLY EVENING. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IS FORECAST THROUGH TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...SO AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. THIS WARNING IS LIKELY TO BE EXTENDED. ...STORM INFORMATION... AT 2 PM EDT THE LARGE EYE OF HURRICANE FRANCES WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 26.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 79.0 WEST OR ABOUT 70 MILES... EAST OF PALM BEACH FLORIDA. FRANCES HAS BARELY MOVED DURING THE PAST HOUR. HOWEVER THE HURRICANE IS EXPECTED TO RESUME A WEST TO WEST-NORTHWEST TRACK NEAR 5 MPH...7 KM/HR TODAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF THE LARGE EYE OF HURRICANE FRANCES WILL BE VERY NEAR THE FLORIDA EAST COAST BY LATE TONIGHT OR EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 105 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... THIS WILL BE A LONG DURATION WIND AND RAIN EVENT. DO NOT GET CAUGHT TRYING TO DO THINGS OUTDOORS IN BETWEEN RAINBANDS...STAY PUT IN SHELTER. AS FRANCES MAKES LANDFALL THIS EVENING PEOPLE IN AND CLOSE TO THE CORE OF MAXIMUM WINDS SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IN A SMALL ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR SUCH AS A CLOSET OR BATHROOM. PUT AS MANY WALLS BETWEEN YOU AND THE HURRICANE WINDS AS POSSIBLE. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. KEEP A BATTERY OPERATED NOAA WEATHER RADIO WITH YOU OR AM FM RADIO TO RECEIVE UPDATES AND WARNINGS. TORNADO WARNINGS WILL BE ISSUED IF A HIGH THREAT OF TORNADOES OR DESTRUCTIVE WINDS WITH HURRICANE RAINBANDS ARE FORECAST USING DOPPLER RADAR. EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF STREETS...INTERSECTIONS ...LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS...AS WELL AS FLOODING OF RURAL ROADS...SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS. ...WATCHES AND WARNINGS... A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM FLAGLER BEACH SOUTH TO FLORIDA CITY...WHICH INCLUDES ALL OF THE EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA COASTAL COUNTIES...AND ALSO LAKE OKEECHOBEE. AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR OKEECHOBEE...OSCEOLA...ORANGE...LAKE ...INLAND VOLUSIA AND SEMINOLE COUNTIES. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY FOR ALL OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. ...TORNADO IMPACTS... ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN SOME OF THE STRONGER OUTER RAINBANDS AND THE THREAT WILL INCREASE AS THE INNER RAINBANDS OF FRANCES MOVE IN LATER TONIGHT. ...NEXT UPDATE... THE NEXT HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 4 PM OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT. FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT...SEE THE MELBOURNE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB PAGE AT: WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MLB $$ DECKER