Hurricane Local Statement

A Hurricane Local Statement is a weather statement produced for the public by local Weather Forecast Offices of the National Weather Service in or near an area affected or forecast to be affected by a tropical storm or hurricane which provides an overview of the storm's local effects, including expected weather conditions, evacuation decisions made by local officials, and precautions necessary to protect life and property.[1]

These statements are meant to complement statements released by the National Hurricane Center, which is focused on regional effects of tropical storms & hurricanes. Hurricane local statements will generally provide a condensed version of storm information provided in NHC advisories, while expanding on the local impacts of the storm and actions made by local officials in response to the storm.[2]

According to the National Hurricane Center, local hurricane statements generally present the following:[2]

  • A lead statement
  • A sentence detailing the counties, parishes, or cities covered by the statement
  • Watches and/or warnings in effect and the counties or parishes to which they apply
  • Recommended precautionary actions and the times they should be completed
  • Storm surge and storm tide information, including the times that various heights are expected, present heights, and their locations
  • Present winds and the expected time of onset of tropical storm or hurricane-force winds
  • Tornado, flood, flash flood, rip current, beach erosion, and inland high wind potential
  • The time of the next statement
  • Information on the probability of hurricane or tropical storm conditions may also be included. An example section of a hurricane local statement is provided below.

Example

The following Hurricane Local Statement was issued by the National Weather Service office in Key West, Florida prior to the arrival of Hurricane Wilma. [3]

105

WTUS82 KEYW 232334 AAA HLSEYW FLZ076-077-078-GMZ031-032-033-052-053-054-072-073-074-075-240030-

HURRICANE WILMA LOCAL STATEMENT...UPDATED PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KEY WEST FL 735 PM EDT SUN OCT 23 2005

..A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA KEYS

..A MANDATORY EVACUATION IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA KEYS

..A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA KEYS

..A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA KEYS


..NEW INFORMATION SINCE LAST ISSUANCE

STORM INFORMATION HAS BEEN UPDATED. WIND IMPACTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS.

..AREAS AFFECTED

THIS STATEMENT IS SPECIFIC TO THE FLORIDA KEYS OF MONROE COUNTY.

..WATCHES AND WARNINGS

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF THE FLORIDA KEYS INCLUDING DRY TORTUGAS AND FLORIDA BAY...AND ALL SURROUNDING WATERS. THIS MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN 24 HOURS. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL THE FLORIDA KEYS. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT.

..STORM INFORMATION

AT 500 PM EDT THE CENTER OF HURRICANE WILMA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 23.5 NORTH...LONGITUDE 84.9 WEST...ABOUT 210 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF KEY WEST. WILMA WAS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST NEAR 14 MPH. A CONTINUED NORTHEASTWARD MOTION AND A GRADUAL INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT AND MONDAY. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS WERE NEAR 105 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. WILMA IS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE. SOME INCREASE IN STRENGTH IS POSSIBLE TONIGHT AND EARLY MONDAY...AND WILMA COULD BE NEAR CATEGORY THREE STRENGTH AS IT NEARS THE SOUTHWESTERN FLORIDA COAST. THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE WAS 959 MB...OR 28.32 INCHES OF MERCURY.

..PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS

MONROE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS HAVE RELEASED A SCHEDULE TO TERMINATE THE EVACUATION OF THE FLORIDA KEYS DUE TO HURRICANE WILMA. EVACUATIONS ENDED IN THE LOWER KEYS AND KEY WEST AS OF 5 PM. EVACUATIONS ARE TO END AT 6 PM IN THE MIDDLE KEYS INCLUDING MARATHON...AND AT 7 PM IN THE UPPER KEYS INCLUDING ISLAMORADA...KEY LARGO...OCEAN REEF...AND MAINLAND MONROE COUNTY. RESIDENTS AND MOTORISTS SHOULD SEEK SAFE AND STURDY SHELTER. RESIDENTS WHO HAVE NOT EVACUATED AND WHO DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN THEIR HOMES...ESPECIALLY IN MOBILE HOMES...CAN GO TO A REFUGE OF LAST RESORT AS FOLLOWS...KEY WEST HIGH SCHOOL AT 2100 FLAGLER AVENUE...SUGARLOAF SCHOOL MILE MARKER 19...STANLEY SWITLIK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MILE MARKER 48...CORAL SHORES HIGH SCHOOL MILE MARKER 90...SHERATON KEY LARGO BEACH RESORT MILE MARKER 98 KEY LARGO...AND MARRIOT KEY LARGO BAY BEACH RESORT MILE MARKER 103 KEY LARGO. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY...THE CROWNE LA CONCHA HOTEL IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE. OFFICIALS EMPHASIZE REFUGES OF LAST RESORT WILL NOT BE MANNED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS...AND THERE WILL BE NO SUPPLIES FOR EVACUEES. EVACUEES MUST BRING THEIR OWN WATER...BEDDING...AND SUPPLIES. NO PETS ARE PERMITTED AT REFUGES OF LAST RESORT. MONROE COUNTY OFFICES AND COURTS ARE TO BE CLOSED MONDAY AND TUESDAY. MONROE COUNTY SCHOOLS ARE TO BE CLOSED MONDAY AND TUESDAY. MONROE COUNTY SCHOOL DAYTIME CUSTODIANS SHOULD REPORT TUESDAY. ALL CAMPUSES OF FLORIDA KEYS COMMUNITY COLLEGE ARE TO BE CLOSED MONDAY. THE CITY OF KEY WEST WILL ENACT A CURFEW FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM MONDAY. THERE IS ALSO A VOLUNTARY CURFEW ON ALCOHOL SALES AT LOCAL BARS.

..WIND IMPACTS

SUSTAINED TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WILL ARRIVE ACROSS THE LOWER AND MIDDLE KEYS DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS...AND ACROSS THE UPPER KEYS BY LATE THIS EVENING. CONDITIONS ARE DETERIORATING ACROSS THE LOWER KEYS AND DRIVING IS NO LONGER RECOMMENDED. RESIDENTS IN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER KEYS HAVE JUST A FEW HOURS LEFT FOR EVACUATION.

..MARINE IMPACTS

SMALL CRAFT SHOULD REMAIN IN PORT. AS THE STORM APPROACHES...WIND DIRECTION WILL BE FROM THE SOUTHEAST INITIALLY. AS WILMA PASSES JUST WEST AND NORTH OF THE KEYS...THE MAXIMUM WINDS WILL COME FROM THE SOUTHWEST THEN WEST.

..STORM SURGE FLOOD AND STORM TIDE IMPACTS

STORM TIDES OF 2 TO 4 FEET ON THE ATLANTIC SIDE ARE EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT. THEN AS WINDS SHIFT TO THE WEST MONDAY MORNING...STORM TIDES OF 5 TO 8 FEET ABOVE NORMAL ARE INDICATED ON THE GULF SIDE AND THE BAY SIDE. HIGH TIDE WILL OCCUR MONDAY AT 230 AM IN KEY WEST...123 AM AT VACA CUT...208 AM AT WHALE HARBOR...AND 217 AM THE TAVERNIER CREEK BRIDGE OVER ROUTE 1.

..TORNADO IMPACTS

ISOLATED TORNADOS EMBEDDED IN OUTER RAINBANDS ARE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT WITH HURRICANE WILMA. A VIOLENT WATERSPOUT WAS SPOTTED 5 NM WEST OF KEY WEST AT 4 PM. THE GREATEST THREAT OF TORNADOS WILL OCCUR FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING.

..RAINFALL IMPACTS

RAINFALL TOTALS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH TUESDAY. THE HEAVIEST RAINS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT AND MONDAY. SEVERE FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. IF YOU LIVE IN A HIGHLY FLOOD-PRONE AREA TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT PROPERTY.

..NEXT UPDATE

THE NEXT HURRICANE WILMA LOCAL STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 830 PM...OR SOONER IF NEW INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE. VISIT OUR KEY

WEST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/KEYWEST.

See also
  • Tropical cyclone watches and warnings

References
  1. "H". National Weather Service Glossary. National Weather Service.
  2. "NHC Tropical Cyclone Text Product Descriptions". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  3. FUTTERMAN; DEVANAS (23 October 2005). "HURRICANE WILMA LOCAL STATEMENT...UPDATED PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS". College of DuPage. national Weather Service. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
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