Manatee County now "inside the cone"

The 5 p.m. updated forecast track of Tropical Storm Chantal has Manatee County on the fringe of what forecasters call the cone of uncertainty; that is, there's a possibility the storm could head our way.

Even if it doesn't pass directly over Manatee County, experts warn that the area could still feel the effects of the storm.

"A tropical cyclone is not a point. Their effects can span many hundreds of miles from the center," the National Hurricane Center posts on its web site. Since Chantal's tropical force winds are now being felt 90 miles from its center, it wouldn't take a direct hit for Manatee to see damage.

At 5 p.m., the government of the Bahamas has issued a tropical storm warning for the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands and a tropical storm watch for the central Bahamas.

A tropical storm warning has been extended to include the entire coast of Haiti, while warnings for Martinique and Guadeloupe have been discontinued.

A hurricane watch is in effect for Barahona to Samana in the Dominican Republic

A tropical storm warning is in effect for:

• Puerto Rico
• Entire coast of the Dominican Republic
• Entire coast of Haiti
• Turks and Caicos
• Southeastern Bahamas

A tropical storm watch is in effect for:

• U.S. Virgin Islands
• Vieques and Culebra
• Central Bahamas

The 5 p.m. map:

Chantal gets a little stronger

Tropical Storm Chantal is picking up strength as it blows past the Windward Islands Tuesday, the National Weather Service is reporting.

At 2 p.m. EDT, data from ground observations in Martinique and a reconnaissance plane indicate the storm's maximum sustained winds near its center are 65 mph. It continues to move west-northwest at 29 mph, tracking toward Hispaniola. 

Tropical storm-force winds extend 90 miles from the center, forecasters say.

A hurricane watch is in effect from Barahona to Samana in the Dominican Republic. Tropical storm warnings and watches have been posted throughout the eastern Carribean.

The latest five-day projected track:

Chantal expected to parallel Florida's east coast by the weekend

Tropical Storm Chantal continues to move west toward Florida Tuesday morning with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph.

The forecast track has the storm eventually moving north along Florida's east coast by the weekend.

At 8 a.m. Chantal was about 45 miles north-northwest of Barbados and 85 miles east of St. Lucia, moving west at 29 mph.

Chantal’s center will move away from the Lesser Antilles later today and expected to be over the Dominican Republic by Wednesday, forecasters say.


A tropical storm warning is in effect for:

• Barbados
• Dominica
• St. Lucia
• Martinique
• Guadeloupe
• Puerto Rico
• Southern coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to the Haitian border.

A tropical storm watch is in effect for:.

• St. Vincent
• U.S. Virgin islands
• Vieques and Culebra
• Northern coast of the Dominican republic
• Haiti
• Turks and Caicos
• Southeastern Bahamas

A new system to watch

The National Weather Service has spotted a strong tropical wave over the eastern Atlantic about 950 miles southwest of the Cape Verde islands.

The shower and thunderstorm activity continues to show some signs of organization. Forecasters say there's a 30 percent chance of the system, shown outlined in orange below, becoming a tropical storm in the next 48 hours as it moves westward at 20 to 25 mph.

Keeping an eye on the southern Gulf

National Weather Service forecasters are watching an area of low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning.

A broad trough of low pressure is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms across the eastern Gulf of Mexico southward into the northwestern Caribbean sea.

Upper-level winds could become marginally conducive for development during the next couple of days while the disturbance moves generally westward.

The weather service is only giving it a 10 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.

Dalila meandering off the Pacific Coast

The fourth named storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season formed Tuesday off the west coast of Mexico.

Hurricane Dalila is about 190 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, and is creeping westward into open water.

Dalila's maximum sustained winds are at 75 mph, with winds reaching 8-0 miles from its center.

The storm, at this point, is no threat to land. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Manatee under flood watch through Wednesday

MANATEE -- Bradenton and much of the region are under a flood watch through Wednesday morning, as forecasters predict continued heavy rains, according to the National Weather Service.

Early Tuesday, the Weather Service said: "The potential for additional heavy rainfall today on top of some considerable totals already achieved since Sunday will create a concern for flooding in west central and southwest Florida."

For Bradenton on Tuesday, the Weather Service is calling for mostly cloudy skies, with a high near 88 and southerly winds around 15 mph. Gusts could reach 22 mph.

The chance of rain is 70 percent, with showers likely all day and thunderstorms likely after 2 p.m.

Tuesday night, showers and storms are likely before 2 a.m. The chance of rain is 60 percent.
The expected low is around 74.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/07/02/4592647/weather-alert-more-rain-means.html#storylink=cpy