Tropical Storm Elsa Passes Near Florida Keys Tuesday; Minimal Impacts Reported
July 08, 2021 • KW Concierge
Tropical Storm Elsa passed near the Lower Florida Keys and Key West Tuesday, July 6, leaving only minor impacts.
Officials with the National Hurricane Center estimate the storm's center was about 55 miles away from Key West during its closest approach to the Keys island chain Tuesday midday. At that time Elsa was a tropical storm with 60 mph winds, though the highest sustained winds Key West felt were about 40-45 mph according to forecasters at the Florida Keys National Weather Service Office.
The Florida Keys Overseas Highway is fully open and operational, as are Key West International Airport and Florida Keys Marathon International Airport.
Commercial flight operations at Key West International are to return to normal schedules by midday Wednesday, according to Monroe County Airports Director Richard Strickland. He suggested passengers contact airlines to confirm departure and arrival times.
Keys officials and infrastructure personnel reported only minor impacts along the island chain. In Key West, spokesperson Alyson Crean said some downed trees and blocked storm drains were cleaned up by city crews. Some city streets flooded, but by Tuesday afternoon the water had receded.
As of Tuesday night, Keys utilities reported no power outages and communications were intact.
There were no general visitor or resident evacuation orders for Elsa.
Normal summertime weather patterns are returning to the Keys Wednesday.
Below is a video of flooding around the southern most point during the storm.