Ed. note 6/7/13: see our page of updates as the storm passed by here: http://www.alligator.org/html_7be451c4-ce86-11e2-b38c-001a4bcf887a.html
Brace for impact.
Tropical Storm Andrea became the first named storm of the 2013 hurricane season Wednesday afternoon after it strengthened off the coast of Mexico.
As of press time, a tropical storm warning reached from near Apalachicola to near Port Charlotte. That area could experience winds of 39 to 73 miles per hour today, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The official forecast has the center of the storm passing near Gainesville by the end of the day today. UF has not officially announced any change to classes.
“The emergency management team has been monitoring the storm all week, and at this time we’re not anticipating significant impact other than rain,” UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said.
UF chemical engineering sophomore Katelyn Ezelle, 18, isn’t too worried about it, either. She said she moved to Pensacola less than two months before Hurricane Ivan hit Florida, a Category 3 at the time.
“When it hit, we lived pretty close to the water … we had about 4 feet of water damage,” she said. “So if [Andrea] comes, I’m sure I’ll get a call from my dad.”
Contact Matt Riva at mriva@alligator.org.
