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| Isaias Live Updates: Storm Grazes Florida and Takes Aim at the Carolinas | Isaias Live Updates: Storm Grazes Florida and Takes Aim at the Carolinas |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Floridians along the state’s Atlantic coast hunkered down on Sunday as Tropical Storm Isaias plowed northward just offshore, whipping the state with high winds, rain and the threat of flash floods as it went. | |
| At 5 p.m. Eastern time, the center of the storm was about 30 miles off the Central Florida coast, near Vero Beach, and was moving north-northwest at about nine miles an hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had strengthened slightly from earlier in the day, with sustained winds of 70 m.p.h., only 4 m.p.h. below hurricane strength. | |
| Isaias — (which is written Isaías in Spanish and pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs) — clobbered the Bahamas with hurricane conditions on Saturday and early Sunday after hitting parts of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. It weakened to a tropical storm Saturday evening. | Isaias — (which is written Isaías in Spanish and pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs) — clobbered the Bahamas with hurricane conditions on Saturday and early Sunday after hitting parts of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. It weakened to a tropical storm Saturday evening. |
| Flooding from the storm’s heavy rains led to the death of at least one person in Puerto Rico, the island’s Department of Public Safety said on Saturday in a statement. A woman who had been missing since Thursday drowned near Rincón, in the northwest portion of the island. | Flooding from the storm’s heavy rains led to the death of at least one person in Puerto Rico, the island’s Department of Public Safety said on Saturday in a statement. A woman who had been missing since Thursday drowned near Rincón, in the northwest portion of the island. |
| The center of the storm skirted the coast of Florida on Sunday without making landfall, and the southern part of the coast was left largely unscathed, aside from scattered power outages. Only about 200 people in Palm Beach County stayed at public shelters, out of a population of almost 1.5 million, according to Bill Johnson, the county director of emergency management. | |
| “We are blessed that Hurricane Isaías spared us of significant damage,” Mr. Johnson said at a news conference Sunday. “I am pleased that this was more of an exercise than a real event — something we should all be grateful of.” | |
| Forecasters said the storm would track northward and could fluctuate a bit in strength before coming ashore in the Carolinas on Monday. Hurricane watches were posted from South Santee River, S.C., north to Surf City, N.C., and tropical storm watches are posted all the way to Rhode Island. Forecasters said the storm had the potential to spawn tornadoes in the Carolinas on Monday. | |
| Complicating the emergency response to the storm, reported coronavirus cases continue to rise sharply in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, and health officials have warned that their health care systems could be strained beyond capacity with the influx of new patients. The situation would worsen if the storm knocks out power across wide areas or forces evacuations of hospitals and nursing homes. | Complicating the emergency response to the storm, reported coronavirus cases continue to rise sharply in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, and health officials have warned that their health care systems could be strained beyond capacity with the influx of new patients. The situation would worsen if the storm knocks out power across wide areas or forces evacuations of hospitals and nursing homes. |
| Two long-haul travelers taking a red-eye flight from the International Space Station arrived in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida panhandle on Sunday, working their way around Isaias’ rough weather. | Two long-haul travelers taking a red-eye flight from the International Space Station arrived in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida panhandle on Sunday, working their way around Isaias’ rough weather. |
| Robert L. Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley, the astronauts who blasted off to the space station in May in the Crew Dragon capsule built and operated by SpaceX, the rocket company started by Elon Musk, pushed off from the orbiting outpost on Saturday night. | Robert L. Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley, the astronauts who blasted off to the space station in May in the Crew Dragon capsule built and operated by SpaceX, the rocket company started by Elon Musk, pushed off from the orbiting outpost on Saturday night. |
| Suspended under four giant billowing orange-and-white parachutes, the Crew Dragon settled into calm waters near Pensacola, Fla. at a gentle pace of 15 miles per hour on Sunday afternoon. Two small SpaceX boats arrived quickly to begin the operation to prepare the capsule to be pulled out by the main recovery ship, where crews will tend to the spacecraft’s passengers. | Suspended under four giant billowing orange-and-white parachutes, the Crew Dragon settled into calm waters near Pensacola, Fla. at a gentle pace of 15 miles per hour on Sunday afternoon. Two small SpaceX boats arrived quickly to begin the operation to prepare the capsule to be pulled out by the main recovery ship, where crews will tend to the spacecraft’s passengers. |
| It was the first water landing by NASA since 1975, when the agency’s crews were still flying in the Apollo modules used for the historic American moon missions. | It was the first water landing by NASA since 1975, when the agency’s crews were still flying in the Apollo modules used for the historic American moon missions. |
| NASA and SpaceX selected seven potential sites in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico where the capsule and its passengers could splash down. But the track of Isaias ruled out the three in the Atlantic, so they chose the site near Pensacola. | NASA and SpaceX selected seven potential sites in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico where the capsule and its passengers could splash down. But the track of Isaias ruled out the three in the Atlantic, so they chose the site near Pensacola. |
| At the splashdown site, winds must be less than 10 miles an hour, and there are additional constraints on waves and rain. In addition, helicopters that take part in the recovery of the capsule must be able to fly and land safely. | At the splashdown site, winds must be less than 10 miles an hour, and there are additional constraints on waves and rain. In addition, helicopters that take part in the recovery of the capsule must be able to fly and land safely. |
| South Carolina’s popular tourist destinations had their fingers crossed on Sunday, hoping the storm would continue to be less fearsome than forecast, as it has so far in Florida. | |
| The National Weather Service is predicting storm surges of 2 to 4 feet, some flooding and perhaps a tornado in the Charleston area Sunday night and Monday as the storm moves north offshore, toward an expected landfall farther uo the coast. City officials have opened four elevated garages where residents can park free in case of flooding. | |
| Some business owners are worried that a one-two punch of the virus and a powerful storm could push their establishments over the edge. The Two Meeting Street Inn, a waterfront bed and breakfast in Charleston, was shut down in March over virus concerns and hoped to reopen Aug. 15, but may now have to wait until September. | |
| “It’s been devastating for us,” said Julie Spell Roberts, whose family has owned the inn since 1946. “Our biggest season is March, April and May. Pretty much that’s when the money is made to keep you afloat for the rest of the year.” | |
| Extreme weather is a threat the family has experience with. Ms. Spell Roberts’ mother remained at the inn during Hurricane Hugo, a Category 4 storm that ravaged the city in 1989. | |
| To prepare, the family has taken the furniture off the porch and cleared the property of anything that might smash a wall or window. “What we have learned over time is that you’re foolish if you don’t think that Mother Nature is a formidable foe, because she is,” Ms. Spell Roberts said. | |
| Farther north, Myrtle Beach is preparing for a “lower to moderate threat” to arrive Monday night, said Steve Pfaff, a National Weather Service meteorologist, with sustained winds around 50 to 60 miles an hour and gusts up to 70. Four to six inches of rain could lead to flash flooding in places with drainage problems, and some areas may get more. | |
| For businesses away from the shoreline, “it’s a wait and see game,” said Jay Slevin, general manager of Mellow Mushroom, a pizzeria a mile and a half from the ocean in Myrtle Beach. “We’re not boarding anything up,” he said. | |
| In recent weeks as the coronavirus has been resurgent in many parts of the country, experts and politicians alike have implored people to protect themselves and others by always wearing a face mask in public. | In recent weeks as the coronavirus has been resurgent in many parts of the country, experts and politicians alike have implored people to protect themselves and others by always wearing a face mask in public. |
| Does that apply when you have to be out in the gusting wind and driving rain? Our health columnist Tara Parker-Pope says probably not: Face masks aren’t as effective when they are wet. | Does that apply when you have to be out in the gusting wind and driving rain? Our health columnist Tara Parker-Pope says probably not: Face masks aren’t as effective when they are wet. |
| For one thing, it’s much harder to breathe through a wet mask than a dry one, Ms. Parker-Pope notes. And on top of that, a moist or wet mask doesn’t filter as well as a dry mask. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends mask-wearing in general, says they should not be worn when doing things that may get the mask wet. | For one thing, it’s much harder to breathe through a wet mask than a dry one, Ms. Parker-Pope notes. And on top of that, a moist or wet mask doesn’t filter as well as a dry mask. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends mask-wearing in general, says they should not be worn when doing things that may get the mask wet. |
| It doesn’t take a tropical storm to drench a mask, of course. They can become soaked with condensation from your breath or sweat from your face, and some people think of wetting them deliberately to cool off in hot weather. But the harm done is the same, wherever the moisture comes from. | It doesn’t take a tropical storm to drench a mask, of course. They can become soaked with condensation from your breath or sweat from your face, and some people think of wetting them deliberately to cool off in hot weather. But the harm done is the same, wherever the moisture comes from. |
| A paper surgical mask that gets soaked should probably be discarded, Ms. Parker-Pope advises, but a cloth mask can be washed, dried and re-used. | A paper surgical mask that gets soaked should probably be discarded, Ms. Parker-Pope advises, but a cloth mask can be washed, dried and re-used. |
| If rain is coming down in buckets, social distancing is not likely to be a problem, and any viral particles exhaled by an infected person probably would be quickly diluted by gusting wind and rain. So there is little need to wear a mask out in a rainstorm, Ms. Parker-Pope notes: “In fact, you should take it off and keep it dry, so if you need to duck into a store to wait out the storm, you have a dry mask to wear indoors.” | If rain is coming down in buckets, social distancing is not likely to be a problem, and any viral particles exhaled by an infected person probably would be quickly diluted by gusting wind and rain. So there is little need to wear a mask out in a rainstorm, Ms. Parker-Pope notes: “In fact, you should take it off and keep it dry, so if you need to duck into a store to wait out the storm, you have a dry mask to wear indoors.” |
| While Isaias’ gusting winds remain capable of significant damage, its heavy rains may be the biggest punch the storm packs. Much of the East Coast of the United States will get a soaking, forecasters say. | While Isaias’ gusting winds remain capable of significant damage, its heavy rains may be the biggest punch the storm packs. Much of the East Coast of the United States will get a soaking, forecasters say. |
| With 3 to 6 inches expected across the eastern Carolinas and Virginia and isolated areas getting up to 8 inches, significant flash floods and urban flooding is can be expected through the middle of the week, and widespread minor to moderate river flooding is possible in the region. | With 3 to 6 inches expected across the eastern Carolinas and Virginia and isolated areas getting up to 8 inches, significant flash floods and urban flooding is can be expected through the middle of the week, and widespread minor to moderate river flooding is possible in the region. |
| Southeastern New York and New England can expect almost as much rain when the storm reaches there Tuesday and Wednesday, while northeast Florida and coastal Georgia are likely to get 1 to 3 inches before Isaias moves away north, forecasters said. | Southeastern New York and New England can expect almost as much rain when the storm reaches there Tuesday and Wednesday, while northeast Florida and coastal Georgia are likely to get 1 to 3 inches before Isaias moves away north, forecasters said. |
| Residents of inland North Carolina communities that have been swamped before by river flooding are eyeing the storm’s approach cautiously, and flash flood warnings are already in effect in some areas. Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on Friday. | Residents of inland North Carolina communities that have been swamped before by river flooding are eyeing the storm’s approach cautiously, and flash flood warnings are already in effect in some areas. Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on Friday. |
| “With the right protection and sheltering, we can keep people safe from the storm while at the same time trying to avoid making the pandemic worse,” Mr. Cooper said on Twitter. “A hurricane during a pandemic is double trouble. But the state has been carefully preparing for this scenario.” | “With the right protection and sheltering, we can keep people safe from the storm while at the same time trying to avoid making the pandemic worse,” Mr. Cooper said on Twitter. “A hurricane during a pandemic is double trouble. But the state has been carefully preparing for this scenario.” |
| A number of inland counties in North Carolina have been hit twice in recent years by river flooding — by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. | A number of inland counties in North Carolina have been hit twice in recent years by river flooding — by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. |
| Justin Harrington, a manager of a Big Blue hardware store in inland Kinston, N.C., said customers had started stocking up on generators, flashlights and gas cans. So far, the store is planning to stay open, “as long as it’s not as bad as past storms.” | Justin Harrington, a manager of a Big Blue hardware store in inland Kinston, N.C., said customers had started stocking up on generators, flashlights and gas cans. So far, the store is planning to stay open, “as long as it’s not as bad as past storms.” |
| Summer in Florida, with its routine thunderstorms, sweaty nights and unforgiving mosquitoes, is not for the faint of heart. But the summer of 2020 is proving especially despairing, Patricia Mazzei, our Miami bureau chief, writes. | |
| A public health crisis. An economic calamity, with more than a million Floridians out of work and an unemployment payment system that was one of the slowest in the country. And now an early debut of hurricane season, to remind Florida that the inevitable convergence of the pandemic and the weather is likely to play out again, and perhaps much more seriously than this relatively mild storm, before this nightmare season ends. | |
| It should be too early to worry much about storms in Florida, Ms. Mazzei writes, but this annus horribilis would not have it any other way. | |
| “It’s just kind of been the way 2020’s gone so far,” said Howard Tipton, the administrator for St. Lucie County, on Florida’s Treasure Coast. “But we roll with it, right? We don’t get to determine the cards that we’re dealt.” | |
| Kevin Cho, 31, a Florida National Guard captain and a nurse practitioner who treats Covid-19 patients in the intensive care units of several Miami public hospitals, said the approach of the storm was “really stretching our limits.” | |
| Many poor people contracting the disease “are losing their jobs, and now they’re faced with a hurricane,” he added. “How could they prepare for a hurricane when they have been exhausted of every resource they have? This hurricane is only going to make things worse.” | |
| Isaias blew away from the Bahamas on Sunday after pummeling the low-lying islands with heavy rain and high winds for most of the weekend. The storm left parts of Grand Bahama drenched with more than a foot of rain, and other islands in the archipelago were suffering from minor flooding and downed trees and power lines. | Isaias blew away from the Bahamas on Sunday after pummeling the low-lying islands with heavy rain and high winds for most of the weekend. The storm left parts of Grand Bahama drenched with more than a foot of rain, and other islands in the archipelago were suffering from minor flooding and downed trees and power lines. |
| No storm-related deaths have been reported in the country, where memories are still raw from Hurricane Dorian, which ravaged Abaco and Grand Bahama last year and left at least 74 people dead. Many residents of the islands are still living in tents or in unrepaired houses that were damaged during Dorian. According to a report in May by the International Organization for Migration, the islands also lack an adequate supply of hurricane shelters. | No storm-related deaths have been reported in the country, where memories are still raw from Hurricane Dorian, which ravaged Abaco and Grand Bahama last year and left at least 74 people dead. Many residents of the islands are still living in tents or in unrepaired houses that were damaged during Dorian. According to a report in May by the International Organization for Migration, the islands also lack an adequate supply of hurricane shelters. |
| The coronavirus pandemic has made rebuilding more difficult, and weakened the country’s tourism-dependent economy, leaving the Bahamas particularly vulnerable this hurricane season. | The coronavirus pandemic has made rebuilding more difficult, and weakened the country’s tourism-dependent economy, leaving the Bahamas particularly vulnerable this hurricane season. |
| The country locked down in March after recording its first few coronavirus infections, and it seemed to have the outbreak under control, with just 104 cases by July 1, when it reopened for international travel. Soon after that, though, cases began to surge, with Grand Bahama emerging as a hot spot. The island was in the midst of a new two-week lockdown when tropical storm warnings were posted on Thursday. | The country locked down in March after recording its first few coronavirus infections, and it seemed to have the outbreak under control, with just 104 cases by July 1, when it reopened for international travel. Soon after that, though, cases began to surge, with Grand Bahama emerging as a hot spot. The island was in the midst of a new two-week lockdown when tropical storm warnings were posted on Thursday. |
| The prime minister, Hubert Minnis, temporarily relaxed the restrictions to allow residents to prepare, but fear of the virus remained a significant obstacle. Some people were hesitant to venture out for supplies, and many were afraid to seek refuge in shelters where there was no clear pan for social distancing. | The prime minister, Hubert Minnis, temporarily relaxed the restrictions to allow residents to prepare, but fear of the virus remained a significant obstacle. Some people were hesitant to venture out for supplies, and many were afraid to seek refuge in shelters where there was no clear pan for social distancing. |
| Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are tracking another potential tropical cyclone that could develop in the western Atlantic in the next five days. | Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are tracking another potential tropical cyclone that could develop in the western Atlantic in the next five days. |
| But so far, they say, the odds of it becoming even a tropical depression, with sustained winds up to 38 miles an hour, are only 60 percent. And its path would probably be well west and north of the major islands of the Caribbean and the Bahamas, far from the continental shore. | But so far, they say, the odds of it becoming even a tropical depression, with sustained winds up to 38 miles an hour, are only 60 percent. And its path would probably be well west and north of the major islands of the Caribbean and the Bahamas, far from the continental shore. |
| It would have to strengthen further still, to sustained winds of 39 m.p.h. or greater, to qualify as a named storm. Right now, it’s just “Disturbance 1” — the only other system on the center’s Atlantic map besides Isaias. | It would have to strengthen further still, to sustained winds of 39 m.p.h. or greater, to qualify as a named storm. Right now, it’s just “Disturbance 1” — the only other system on the center’s Atlantic map besides Isaias. |
| Reporting was contributed by Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Kenneth Chang, Melina Delkic, Rebecca Halleck, Patrick J. Lyons, Patricia Mazzei, Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio, Christina Morales, Aimee Ortiz, Tara Parker-Pope, Michael Roston, Rachel Knowles Scott, Lucy Tompkins and Will Wright. | Reporting was contributed by Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Kenneth Chang, Melina Delkic, Rebecca Halleck, Patrick J. Lyons, Patricia Mazzei, Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio, Christina Morales, Aimee Ortiz, Tara Parker-Pope, Michael Roston, Rachel Knowles Scott, Lucy Tompkins and Will Wright. |