Hurricane Zeta Continuing To Move Inland
October 28, 2020
THIS IS NOW AN ARCHIVED STORY THAT IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED.
At 10 p.m., Hurricane Zeta max winds were still at 80 mph with higher gusts. ]The center was located northeast of Hattiesburg, Mississippi and moving to the northeast at 31 mph.
A wind gust of 70 mph was reported at the weather station located at Northview High School shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday.
An even faster northeastward motion is expected overnight through Thursday, then a rapid east-northeastward motion is
anticipated through Friday. On the forecast track, the center of Zeta will move into southern Alabama soon and then move quickly across the southeastern eastern United States through Thursday before emerging offshore of Mid-Atlantic coast late Thursday.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles . Mobile Regional Airport recently reported sustained winds of 48 mph and a wind gust of 91 mph.
Zeta made landfall Wednesday afternoon with winds of 110 mph near Concordia, Lousiana.
The latest detailed information on Zeta is in the graphis on this page. These graphics will update automatically.
Local Forecast: Rain, Storms, Tropical Storm Warning, Tornado Watch
October 28, 2020
TROPICAL STORM WARNING IN EFFECT. TORNADO WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT.
For the latest on the tropics and Zeta, click here.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Tropical storm conditions expected. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 1am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 69. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
Thursday: Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 77. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 49. West wind around 10 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 66. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 47. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 72. East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45. North wind around 10 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 62.
Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 41.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 68.
Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 46.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 72.
Hundreds Of Gulf Power, EREC Workers Staged To Respond To Hurricane Zeta Outages
October 28, 2020
Gulf Power Company and Escambia River Electric Cooperative have hundreds of workers staged to respond to power outages caused by Hurricane Zeta.
GULF POWER
Gulf Power stands ready to respond to any potential power outages as Hurricane Zeta nears the Gulf Coast. Even as weather bands move through later today, lineworkers will respond to power outages and restore power as long as it is safe to do so, which is usually if winds are under 35 mph.
A storm restoration workforce of more than 2,300 strong, including approximately 1,000 Gulf Power personnel and contractors and an additional 1,300 lineworkers, tree trimmers and support personnel – the vast majority from sister company Florida Power & Light – are staged to immediately begin the process of restoring power from outages caused by Zeta. If the storm’s impact proves greater than currently anticipated, Gulf Power has additional FPL teams ready to travel to quickly ramp up restoration efforts.
“We will continue to work throughout the storm as long as it’s safe, and once the storm has passed, our team will work around the clock until all customers have power again,” said Marlene Santos, president of Gulf Power. “We have a proven restoration plan, and we want our customers to know that our commitment to serve you is unwavering – just as it has been every time severe weather has threatened our area.”
ESCAMBIA RIVER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
Escambia River Electric Cooperative employees are on emergency alert storm status and preparing for the possibility of widespread outages.
Crews from Clay Electric Cooperative in Keystone Heights, Florida, are also staged and ready to assisted EREC linemen as soon as storm conditions subside. Additional crews will be on standby to respond if needed.
“Wind and rain may bring down trees and power lines as Zeta moves inland. With safety as our top priority, we are prepared to respond to whatever impacts our area may sustain from the storm,” EREC CEO Ryan Campbell said.
ECAT Will Resume Normal Service Thursday Except Century And Pensacola Beach
October 28, 2020
ECAT (Escambia County Area Transit will return to regular service on Thursday, except for routes 60 (Century) and 61A/B (temporary Pensacola Beach). Those routes will be delayed and begin at 8 a.m., due to potential debris removal. UWF Trolleys will begin service at 9 a.m.
Here Are Hurricane Zeta Closures In Escambia County
October 28, 2020
A list of Hurricane Zeta closures in Escambia County are listed below. Check back for additions and updates.
- All Escambia County schools are closed on Thursday.
- All UWF locations close at 3 p.m. Wednesday and will reopen at 9 a.m. on Thursday. All courses, including online classes, are canceled. All virtual or in-person meetings are canceled.
- Pensacola State College closed Wednesday and set to open at 7:30 a.m Thursday.
- Pensacola Christian Academy is closed on Thursday.
- All early voting locations in Escambia County will reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday.
- FEMA Mobile Registration Centers in Escambia County will be closed on Thursday.
- City of Pensacola offices and facilities are scheduled to reopen normal business hours on Friday.
- Century town hall is scheduled to reopen at 10 a.m. Thursday.
- At NAS Pensacola, only mission essential personnel were required to report for duty after 1 p.m. Wednesday until further notice. The base is in condition COR I. No evacuations are ordered.
- The Perdido Key and Johnson Beach areas of the Gulf Islands National Seashore are closed.
- The Council on Aging of West Florida adult daycare i
- The Escambia County Tax Collector will reopen at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. Online services remain available.
Gulf Power, EREC Preparing For The Worst From Zeta, Crews On Standby
October 28, 2020
Gulf Power Company and Escambia River Electric Cooperative are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst as Zeta heads toward a landfall along the northern Gulf Coast.
GULF POWER
Gulf Power has activated their storm command center.
“Once again we are taking every action possible to ensure we are ready to respond and can do so quickly to restore power to customers affected,” said Marlene Santos, president of Gulf Power. “Just as we are prepared, we’re asking customers to make safety their top priority and prepare now.”
Crews are prepared to work around the clock to restore power to affected customers once winds are below 35 miles per hour.
In addition, Gulf Power has over 500 resources traveling from its sister company Florida Power & Light to support our restoration efforts with more than 1,000 more on standby. This is in addition to the approximately 1,000 Gulf Power employees and contractors.
ESCAMBIA RIVER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
Escambia River Electric Cooperative employees are on emergency alert storm status and preparing for the possibility of widespread outages.
Crews from Clay Electric Cooperative in Keystone Heights, Florida, are also staged and ready to assisted EREC linemen as soon as storm conditions subside. Additional crews will be on standby to respond if needed.
Pictured: Crews restore power along Highway 97 in Walnut Hill after Hurricane Sally. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Offers Free Sand For Storm Prep
October 27, 2020
Escambia County is offering sand for residents living in flood-prone areas. The sand is available on a first come, first served basis at the following locations:
- John R. Jones Jr. Athletic Park – 555 E. Nine Mile Road
- Don Sutton Park – 2320 Crabtree Church Road, Molino
- Travis M. Nelson Park - 4541 Highway 4, Bratt
- Equestrian Center – 7750 Mobile Highway
- Escambia County Road Department – 601 Highway 297A
- Brent Athletic Park – 4711 N. W St., Pensacola
- Ferry Pass Middle School -available on northwest corner of school property on Parazine Street
- Baars Field Athletic Park – 13001 Sorrento Road, Pensacola
Residents must bring their own sandbags and shovels. Sandbags are usually available for purchase at home improvement and hardware stores.
Pictured: Sand at Travis M. Nelson Park in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Schools To Release One Hour Early On Wednesday; Santa Rosa Is School As Usual; After School Canceled Both Counties
October 27, 2020
Here are the announced changes and cancellations for public schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties due to Zeta. We will post any updates as soons as they are released.
Escambia County
Every Escambia County public school will dismiss one hour earlier than normal on Wednesday. This will allow buses to complete their routes before the estimated arrival time of tropical storm force winds.
All after school activities for Escambia County School have been canceled for Wednesday.
The district will continue to monitor the progress of Zeta and will on Wednesday announced the status of schools for Thursday.
Pensacola Christian Academy
Pensacola Christian Academy will dismiss Grades 1-12 classes, after school activities, and ESD one hour early on Wednesday, October 28. Kindergarten will follow regular schedule, but Grades 1-12 will dismiss at 2 p.m. The early dismissal allows for the completion of bus routes prior to the arrival of strong winds, therefore all afternoon bus schedules will be one hour earlier than normal. Sports practices will end at 4 p.m. and Extended School Day will close at 4:30 p.m. Information regarding Thursday’s schedule will be communicated Wednesday.
Santa Rosa County
At the current time, Santa Rosa County has not made any changes to school for Wednesday or Thursday, but Wednesday after school activities have been canceled.
Showers And Storms Become Likely
October 27, 2020
TROPICAL STORM WARNING IN EFFECT
For the latest on the tropics and Zeta, click here.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 7am and 1pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. High near 80. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Wednesday Night: Tropical storm conditions expected. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 72. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. Southwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51. West wind around 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 68. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 48. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 71. East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 54.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 50.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 70.
No New Deaths, 45 New COVID-19 Cases Reported In Escambia, Santa Rosa
October 27, 2020
THIS IS AN ARCHIVED STORY. SEE NORTHESCAMBIA.COM, CLICK TO ENLARGE.
There were 45 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and no deaths reported Monday in Escambia or Santa Rosa counties by the Florida Department of Health.
Here is the latest data:
Total cases: 13,328 (+32)
Non-Florida residents: 1,324
Total deaths: 269
Long-term care facility deaths : 125
Current hospitalizations: 44 (-6)
Number of tests last day: 658
Percent positive last day: 3.2%
Percent positive last week: 4.4%
Escambia County cases by location:
Pensacola: 9,719 (+19)
Cantonment: 977 (+1)
Century: 939 (+2)
—-including 773 Century prison inmates
Molino: 155
McDavid: 74
Bellview: 19
Walnut Hill: 18
Perdido Key: 9
Gonzalez: 7
Santa Rosa County cases:
Total cases: 5,876 (+13)
Non-Florida residents: 66
Total deaths: 86
Long-term care facility deaths: 19
Cumulative Hospitalizations: 356*
Number of tests last day: 129
Percent positive last day: 9.8%
Santa County cases by location:
Milton: 2,981 (+5)
Gulf Breeze: 853 (+2)
Navarre: 777
Pace: 493 (+1)
Jay: 159
Bagdad: 14 (+1)
Florida cases:
Total cases: 782,013
Florida residents: 771,989
Deaths: 16,449
Hospitalizations: 48,281*
*“Hospitalizations” in the statewide and Santa Rosa County totals is a count of all laboratory confirmed cases in which an inpatient hospitalization occurred at any time during the course of illness. Most of these people are longer be hospitalized. The FDOH does not provide a count of patients currently hospitalized. The Escambia County number is current data compiled each day from the local hospitals.
*The Florida Department of Health does not have a clear standard or definition of “recovered” and does not report a number of recovered individuals.
**Data Sources: Florida Department of Health, Escambia County, City of Pensacola, local hospitals.