Tropical Storm Elsa leaves thousands without power in Florida

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Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, hitting the state with wild winds and torrential rain — and leaving tens of thousands of people without power before weakening and turning north, according to officials.

The storm hit Taylor County on Florida’s Gulf Coast at about 11 a.m. with winds of 65 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

By 2 p.m., the winds had receded to 50 mph as they passed through the Tallahassee area — but not before cutting power to about 26,000 customers, mostly in Hillsboro, Pinellas and Polk counties, which surround Tampa Bay, according to clickorlando.com.

Governor Ron DeSantis said crews are working to restore power, but no hospitals have reported outages, which has been a major problem during past storms.

Waves crash on a bridge in Tampa, Florida, as Tropical Storm Elsa approaches on July 7, 2021. REUTERS/Octavio JonesA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image of Tropical Storm Elsa. NASA/NOAA/AFP via Getty Images

Heavy rains also caused some flooding in coastal counties, however, the Sunshine State escaped the heavy damage that authorities braced for.

DeSantis said at a news conference on Wednesday that no significant structural damage or deaths from the storms were reported.

“It’s definitely much better than expected given that it was supposed to be a hurricane,” Melissa Roper, who lives in Steinhaci, near where Elsa came ashore, told The Associated Press.

“We are very fortunate.”

Tropical Storm Elsa hits trees in Valico, Florida, on July 7, 2021, Lewis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via APPower crews working outage repairs in Cedar Key, Florida, on July 7, 2021, Photo by Mark Walheiser/Getty Images A truck drives in A flooded street in Steinhache, Florida, on July 7, 2021, Photo by Mark Walheiser/Getty Images

“I was honestly expecting a lot worse because I saw winds of 65 mph, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m on the road with this wind,'” Eric Pagan, who lives in Orlando, told local NBC.

Forecasters said the weather system briefly reached hurricane strength before making landfall in western Florida on Wednesday morning — and is expected to spin northeast Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia before moving into the Atlantic Ocean by Friday.

with wire

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