Aug 17, 2009 1:18 pm US/Eastern
Claudette: 1st Named Storm To Hit US Mainland
Click Here for CBS4 chief meteorologist David Bernard's blog
Click Here for CBS4 meteorologist Craig Setzer's blog.
PENSACOLA BEACH (CBS4) ―
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Heavy wind and waves rock a small boat in Apalachicola, Florida as Tropical Storm Claudette makes landfall on Monday, August 17, 2009.
CBS
Tropical Storm Claudette made landfall Monday morning on the Florida panhandle near Fort Walton Beach as the first named storm to hit the U.S. mainland this year.
A few hours after coming ashore, Claudette was downgraded to a tropical depression. Claudette was headed across Alabama toward northeastern Mississippi, bringing heavy rains. It was not expected to cause significant flooding or wind damage.
Near Panama City, a man in his mid-20s died after being pulled from the surf on Sunday afternoon. The Panama City News Herald said another person was reported missing at sea after his boat sank off Shell Island.
Pensacola Beach condominiums had warned residents on Sunday to bring balcony furniture indoors. But after the storm passed farther east, early morning joggers and tourists seeking sea shells dotted the early morning sands.
Surf shop instructor Ben Martin pulled up on the beach in his pickup truck with surfboards in the back around 6:30 a.m. Official surf conditions were moderate, but Martin predicted a great day.
"We are going to get some pretty good surf because it's storm driving the offshore winds. Every surfer that owns a board is going to call in sick,"
Claudette is moving northwest, headed across southwestern Alabama and into northeastern Mississippi late Monday.
Rainfall of 3 to 6 inches was expected, with isolated areas getting up to 10 inches along the Panhandle, the Big Bend region, central and southern Alabama and southwestern Georgia, forecasters said.
"We may see some heavy rains as a result, but we don't expect any high winds or coastal flooding," said John Dosh, manager of Emergency Management for Escambia County, where Pensacola is located.
"This event is a good example of how quickly a tropical storm can develop. We won't always have a lot of warning. This is why citizens need to be prepared throughout hurricane season."
Click Here for CBS4 chief meteorologist David Bernard's blog.
Click Here for CBS4 meteorologist Craig Setzer's blog.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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