As Tropical Storm Nate approaches Alabama, Cherokee County EMA Director Shawn Rogers would like to update our local residents on the threats this storm poses to the Weiss Lake Area.
The National Weather Service in Birmingham held a briefing Thursday morning providing an update on Tropical Storm Nate.
Tropical Storm Nate is expected to become a Category 1 Hurricane Friday or Saturday prior to making landfall on the gulf coast Sunday morning.
As of Thursday the path shifted more to the west. The prediction is that it will make landfall near Gulfport, Mississippi and track north/northeast crossing into Alabama early Sunday morning.
With it making landfall further west, we are now expected to be on the east side of the storm, the worst side. Cherokee County can expect sustained winds of 30 – 40 MPH with gusts between 40 – 50 MPH. Rainfall amounts are expected to be between 2 – 4 inches and some localized flooding may be possible.
Director Rogers stated that “this storm should not be taken lightly”.
Despite the fact that Hurricane Irma didn’t get as bad as it was forecasted, the damage that Georgia experienced was detrimental. Luckily Irma weakened significantly before reaching the Alabama /Georgia state line.
Locally, we can expect numerous downed trees and powerlines and periods of heavy rainfall at times. A tornado threat is present with Tropical Storm Nate where it wasn’t with Irma.
Director Rogers urges everyone to take the appropriate preparedness actions to make sure you and your families are prepared for the worst while we pray for the best.
State EMA Officials will be conducting daily briefings at 10 AM until Saturday morning. At which point the National Weather Service in Birmingham will conduct briefings as needed.
We expect to activate the Emergency Operations Center Sunday morning to ensure that the EMA Office is ready to respond and provide the necessary resources our First Responders and citizens may need.
We will be providing briefings Saturday and Sunday to update everyone on any changes and will continue to closely monitor Tropical Storm Nate as it makes way towards the Gulf Coast.
