HURICANE SANDY 5PM – 10/24/12

Hurricane Sandy is emerging off the northeast coast of Jamaica this evening, centered about 25 miles north-northeast of Jamaica and moving toward the north. Sandy’s center will move over portions of eastern Cuba tonight, near or over the central Bahamas on Thursday and Thursday Night, then the northwestern Bahamas on Friday.
A Tropical Storm Warning has been issued for the east coast of Florida from Ocean Reef to Sebastian Inlet. A Tropical Storm Watch has been extended north to Flagler Beach. A Hurricane Warning continues for Jamaica and the provinces of east-central and southeast Cuba, as well as the central and northwest Bahamas. Preparations to protect life and property there should be completed. A Tropical Storm Warning continues for Haiti. A Tropical Storm Watch continues for the Upper Keys from Ocean Reef to Craig Key, including Florida Bay, and for the southeast Bahamas.
Maximum sustained winds are 80 mph – a Category One hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some weakening is expected while Sandy moves over Cuba, followed by some re-strengthening as it moves over the Bahamas.
A storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 1 to 3 feet above normal tides along the south and east coast of Jamaica, 3 to 5 feet in southeastern Cuba, 5 to 8 feet in the central and northwest Bahamas, and 1 to 2 feet along the Florida east coast in the warning area.
Total rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches are expected across Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba, with isolated amounts of 20 inches possible, especially in mountainous terrain areas, triggering life-threatening flash floods and mud slides. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches, are expected over portions of the Bahamas. Amounts of 1 to 3 inches are possible across the Florida Keys into southeast and east-central Florida.
Get the latest on this tropical cyclone, including forecasts,
graphics, on the NOAA NHC website at www.hurricanes.gov