Elsa moves into Florida

Tropical Storm Elsa roared past Tampa Bay and moved toward Florida’s northern Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning. Elsa weakened to a tropical storm early on Wednesday, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph.

What does that mean for Florida? In addition to damaging winds and heavy rains, forecasters warned of life-threatening storm surges, flooding, and isolated tornadoes. A hurricane warning is in effect for a stretch of coastline from the mouth of Tampa Bay up through Florida’s Big Bend area. Elsa is expected to push into Georgia on Wednesday, then into the Carolinas, likely as a tropical depression.

Dig deeper: Read a report by Carolina Lumetta for The Sift on Elsa’s movement through Haiti and the Dominican Republic over the weekend.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.