Lamont Pepp, direito, acena para um motorista que passava desacelerar depois que o carro de Pepp parou na maré alta no Gause Boulevard em Slidell na sexta-feira, 18 de junho 2021, quando um distúrbio tropical se aproximou da costa da Louisiana. A tempestade tropical Claudette se formou na manhã de sábado ao longo da costa do Golfo dos Estados Unidos, trazendo fortes chuvas e inundações para estados costeiros, incluindo Louisiana, Mississippi e Alabama. Crédito:Scott Threlkeld / The Advocate via AP
Autoridades no Alabama dizem que um tornado suspeito provocado pela tempestade tropical Claudette demoliu ou danificou gravemente pelo menos 50 casas em uma pequena cidade ao norte da fronteira com a Flórida.
O xerife Heath Jackson, do condado de Escambia, disse que a suspeita de um tornado "praticamente destruiu" um parque de trailers, derrubou árvores sobre casas e arrancou o telhado de um ginásio de escola secundária. A maior parte dos danos foi feita nas cidades de Brewton e East Brewton ou próximo a elas, cerca de 48 milhas (77 quilômetros) ao norte de Pensacola, Flórida.
"Isso afetou todo mundo, "Jackson disse." Mas com essas casas móveis sendo construídas tão próximas umas das outras, pode ser muito mais prejudicial para elas do que para as casas que estão espalhadas. "
Não houve relatos imediatos de ferimentos graves ou mortes. Fotos da área de Brewton compartilhadas no Facebook mostram árvores derrubadas, incluindo um que caiu em uma casa, bem como um longo trecho de destroços que um meio de comunicação local disse ser de um parque de caravanas muito danificado.
Os danos da tempestade também foram sentidos no norte da Flórida, onde os ventos - em alguns casos chegando a 85 mph (137 km / h) - fizeram com que um veículo de 18 rodas tombasse de lado.
O Centro Nacional de Furacões declarou Claudette organizada o suficiente para se qualificar como uma tempestade nomeada às 4 da manhã de sábado, bem depois de o centro de circulação da tempestade chegar à costa sudoeste de Nova Orleans.
Os motoristas navegam em um Gause Boulevard inundado em Slidell, La., tarde de sexta-feira, 18 de junho 2021, quando um distúrbio tropical se aproximou da costa da Louisiana. A tempestade tropical Claudette se formou na manhã de sábado ao longo da costa do Golfo dos Estados Unidos, trazendo fortes chuvas e inundações para estados costeiros, incluindo Louisiana, Mississippi e Alabama. Crédito:Scott Threlkeld / The Advocate via AP
Na noite de sábado, Claudette era uma depressão tropical localizada a 45 milhas (75 quilômetros) a oeste-noroeste de Montgomery, Alabama, com ventos sustentados de 30 mph (45 km / h). Ele estava se movendo para nordeste a 22 km / h. A maior parte do mau tempo estava acontecendo bem ao norte e a leste do centro.
Sábado cedo, a tempestade despejou grandes chuvas ao norte do Lago Pontchartrain, na Louisiana, e ao longo da costa do Mississippi, inundando ruas e, em algumas áreas, empurrando água para dentro das casas. Mais tarde, a tempestade estava encharcando o Panhandle da Flórida e, bem no interior, uma vasta extensão do Alabama. O Serviço Meteorológico Nacional alertou sobre possíveis tornados no norte da Flórida e no sul do Alabama.
Partes do interior do Mississippi e da Geórgia também estavam recebendo fortes chuvas de Claudette. E embora a tempestade estivesse enfraquecendo, o National Hurricane Center emitiu um alerta de tempestade tropical para partes da costa da Carolina do Norte, que poderia sentir os efeitos na noite de domingo. A tempestade estava prevista para atravessar o Oceano Atlântico na segunda-feira, e recupere a força da tempestade tropical em águas abertas na terça-feira.
Esta imagem de satélite GOES-16 GeoColor tirada sexta-feira, 18 de junho 2021, às 11h EDT, e fornecido pela NOAA, mostra um sistema de clima tropical no Golfo do México. As autoridades ordenaram o fechamento de um sistema de comportas e bloqueios no sudeste da Louisiana e prepararam sacos de areia no Mississippi e no Alabama como um amplo, O desorganizado sistema climático tropical começou a girar faixas de chuva e vento forte na costa norte do Golfo do México na sexta-feira. Crédito:NOAA via AP
Residentes de Pace, Flórida, ligou para o 911 para relatar um possível twister que arrancou os telhados de duas casas e danificou pelo menos três outras.
"Ninguém está ferido, "disse Sarah Whitfield, spokesperson for Santa Rosa County, where the Florida homes were damaged. "We're just thankful it happened after sunrise, " not overnight as people slept.
An 18-wheeler hit several utility poles and flipped on its side during the storm early Saturday. Debris from the accident, including a collapsed utility pole, turned into projectiles and struck a passing SUV, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Highway Patrol officials were to close both lanes of the Interstate 10 bridge between Escambia and Santa Rosa counties due to high winds.
The county received two calls about trees falling onto homes, but no one was home at the time.
Clouds from Tropical Storm Claudette form on Highway 90 Beaches in Pass Christian, Senhorita., Sexta-feira, 18 de junho 2021. City of Pass Christian has declared state of emergency for potential severe weather. Credit:Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP
The storm left tens of thousands without power and some flights were being canceled or delayed at Pensacola International Airport.
"We have a lot of visitors that are here vacationing, " Escambia County spokesperson Laura Coale said. "Red flags flying out at the beaches so there's absolutely no swimming."
Forecasters said Claudette could dump 5 to 10 inches (12 to 25 centimeters) of rain in the region, with isolated accumulations of 15 inches (38 centimeters) possible.
Residents of Slidell, Louisiana, north of Lake Pontchartrain, reported flooded streets and water in some neighborhoods as the storm pushed onshore overnight. Slidell police said the flooding had largely receded by daybreak, after swamping as many as 50 cars and trucks with water.
Most people riding out the storm still had electricity when they woke up Saturday morning. The website poweroutage.us reported roughly 22, 000 outages total across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Residents in low-lying areas of Hancock County move their vehicles, lawn mowers, ATVs and boats to higher ground in Waveland, Senhorita., as a tropical system approaches Friday, 18 de junho 2021. Forecasters predict a tropical system will bring heavy rain, storm surge and coastal flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The poorly organized disturbance was located Friday morning about 255 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana. Credit:Justin Mitchell/The Sun Herald via AP
The storm struck on a weekend when many on the Gulf Coast planned to celebrate Juneteenth and Father's Day.
Business owners across the Gulf Coast, from restaurateurs to swamp boat operators, had anticipated an influx of tourist cash after a year of lost revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"My biggest concern is that it drives away a busy weekend, and may just end up being a lot of rain, " Austin Sumrall, the owner and chef at the White Pillars Restaurant and Lounge in Biloxi, Mississippi, disse sexta-feira.
He had 170 reservations on his books for Sunday, but was concerned some patrons would cancel.
"We saw, especially last year, the rug can get jerked out from under you pretty quickly, " ele disse.
Na Louisiana, the threat came a month after spring storms and flooding that were blamed for five deaths, and as parts of the state continued a slow recovery from a brutal 2020 hurricane season.
Motorists navigate a flooded Gause Boulevard in Slidell, La., late Friday, 18 de junho 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Credit:Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP
A man takes a photo of waves crashing into what once was a dock for a ferry that transported people from Bay St. Louis to Pass Christian, Senhorita., as a tropical system moves toward the Mississippi Coast on Friday, 18 de junho 2021. Forecasters predict a tropical system will bring heavy rain, storm surge and coastal flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The poorly organized disturbance was located Friday morning about 255 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana. Credit:Justin Mitchell/The Sun Herald via AP
Motorists navigate a flooded Gause Boulevard in Slidell, La., late Friday, 18 de junho 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Credit:Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP
A flooded neighborhood is seen after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through in Slidell, La., Sábado, 19 de junho 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Danny Gonzales, direito, stands in front of his flooded house with his neighbor Bob Neal, upset with power company trucks driving though the flooded neighborhood pushing water back into his home, after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., Sábado, 19 de junho 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Marina Kingsmill and her brother Raylan play in the flooded street in front of their home after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through in Slidell, La., Sábado, 19 de junho 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Marina Kingsmill and her brother Raylan play in the flooded street in front of their home after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through in Slidell, La., Sábado, 19 de junho 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Cal Kingsmill, Jr., and his wife Jessie Kingsmill, point out crickets to their children Marina, 8, and Raylan, 8, in the receding floodwater in front of their home, after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., Sábado, 19 de junho 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Jessie Kingsmill points out crickets to her daughter Marina, 8, in the receding floodwater in front of their home, after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., Sábado, 19 de junho 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
A car stops in front of neighborhood flooding after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., Sábado, 19 de junho 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Jessie Kingsmill stands in her driveway with her children Marina, 8, direito, and Raylan, 8, as water recedes after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., Sábado, 19 de junho 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Marina Kingsmill and her brother Raylan play in the flooded street in front of their home after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through in Slidell, La., Sábado, 19 de junho 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans.Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Danny Gonzales, walks in his flooded house as water recedes, after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., Sábado, 19 de junho 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans.Credit:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Separately, Tropical Storm Dolores made landfall on Mexico's west coast with near-hurricane force. As of Saturday night, it was a depression located about 140 miles (225 kilometers) north-northwest of Guadalajara, Mexico. Its maximum sustained winds were clocked at 30 mph (45 kph), and it was moving north at 21 mph (33 kph).
Heavy rainfall of 6 to 10 inches (about 15 to 25 centimeters) was expected across the southwest and western coastal areas of Mexico throughout the weekend. Forecasters were warning of the potential for flash flooding and mudslides.
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