Tropical Storm Barry Lashes Gulf Coast
By BILL KACZOR
.c The Associated Press
PENSACOLA, Fla. (Aug. 6) - Tropical Storm Barry raked the coast early Monday,
bringing drenching rainfall and the possibility of flooding to the Florida
Panhandle and parts of Alabama and Georgia.
A hurricane warning remained in effect from Pensacola eastward to the
Ochlockonee River, south of Tallahassee, according to an advisory from the
National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Shortly after midnight, the edge of the storm's eye moved onshore between
Laguna Beach and Destin. The eye's center was about 20 miles east-southeast
of Destin and about 40 miles west of Panama City.
Barry was moving toward the north at 8 mph and forecasters expected a gradual
increase in forward speed. Tropical storm force winds extended outward 140
miles from the center.
The storm was not expected to reach hurricane strength before the center
passes over the coast, although weather experts weren't ruling it out
completely.
``There is a slight possibility that it could become a hurricane before the
eye moves onshore. It's so close to being a hurricane now,'' said Trisha
Wallace, meteorologist with the hurricane center.
The storm's wind strength stalled at about 70 mph as it approached the
Panhandle. A tropical storm is designated a hurricane when its sustained wind
speed reaches 74 mph.
Wallace said that heavy rainfall of eight to 10 inches could be expected in
northern Florida, and southern Alabama and Georgia, and flooding was likely
in portions of those areas. Isolated tornadoes were a possibility in the
Panhandle.
``It's moving very slowly, so it's going to be dumping a lot of rain,'' she
said.
Tropical storm warnings were issued for the area west of Pensacola to
Pascaguoula, Miss., and from Ochlockonee River east to the Suwanee River near
Cedar Key.
Earlier Sunday, some residents along the Florida Panhandle took a
wait-and-see attitude, enjoying the surf along the coastline's sandy beaches
while others prepared for heavy flooding.
``I'm not that worried. You live out here and you know it's going to
happen,'' said Stephanie Taylor, 36, who walked hand-in-hand with her
boyfriend near the shore in Pensacola Beach. Red flags waved along the beach
to warn against swimming.
Gov. Jeb Bush urged residents in the Panhandle to heed the warnings.
``The possibility of flooding and isolated tornadoes are where we have the
most concern,'' Bush said. ``Barry remains a strong tropical storm that could
cause serious damage.''
Thirteen shelters were open in the Panhandle and two were on standby in
Mississippi, said Nancy Retherford, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross.
At Fort Walton Beach, a solid gray sky blanketed dark green gulf waters
Sunday afternoon while white surf pounded the beaches. Only a handful of
people walked along the beach while a group surfers took advantage of the
strong tides.
``Just came to check out the waves. They look pretty good,'' said Don Ory, a
marina owner. ``I wish I was out there ... just riding them on a boogie board
or a jet ski would be nice.''
Near Destin, a town just outside Fort Walton Beach, Barry had little affect
on sales Sunday at the Silver Sands Outlet Mall. Thousands of shoppers packed
the mall, taking advantage of the last day of the state's annual tax-free
shopping period. Sporadic light rain fell throughout the afternoon.
``I don't care if it's a storm or what,'' said David Miller, a 37-year-old
printing plant supervisor from Franklin, Tenn., who came with his wife.
``Today's the day to shop.''
Air Force officials said nearly 40 C-130 cargo aircraft and about 300
personnel from Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach were sent to Little Rock
Air Force Base in Arkansas to get them out of the storm's expected path. All
flights were canceled at Pensacola Regional Airport.
Eight Panhandle counties issued voluntary evacuation orders and Franklin
County ordered a mandatory evacuation for three islands. Six counties opened
shelters, but most remained on standby, said Ann Rowe of the Florida Division
of Emergency Management.
``We've battened down the hatches pretty good here,'' said Don Chinery, a
spokesman for Santa Rosa County, which had opened two shelters.
Commissioners in Okaloosa County declared a state of emergency and opened a
shelter at Crestview High School.
In Tallahassee, Richard Smith, Leon County director of emergency management,
said county officials had begun filling sandbags and readying barricades near
areas where they could be vulnerable to flooding.
``That's our primary concern right now, the amount of rainfall we get,''
Smith said.
Barry is the second named storm of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season.
In June, Tropical Storm Allison dumped 20 inches of rain in Louisiana and 32
in Texas, much of it as the storm sat for days off the coast. What was left
of the storm then moved east and north, causing floods as far north as
Pennsylvania.
Barry already had dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of Florida before
moving into the Gulf of Mexico
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