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Live updates: Tropical Storm Elsa forecast to strengthen as it nears Florida's Gulf coast

Live updates: Tropical Storm Elsa forecast to strengthen as it nears Florida's Gulf coast

Connor Perrett

Tropical Storm ElsaNational Hurricane Center

Tropical Storm Elsa is forecast to strengthen as it heads toward the Florida Gulf Coast Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The NHC warned of possible flooding, life-threatening storm surges, and tornadoes on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A hurricane watch has been issued for a portion of the Florida coast.
The impending weather has complicated the search and rescue efforts at the collapsed Champlain Towers South near Miami.

The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch for portions of Florida.

The National Hurricane Center on Tuesday warned of possible life-threatening storm surges, flooding, and tornadoes as Tropical Storm Elsa makes its way toward the Florida Keys.

Elsa is expected to begin impacting Florida's Gulf Coast Tuesday into Wednesday.

The agency issued a storm surge warning along portions of the west coast of Florida and a hurricane watch along a portion of the west-central and big-bend coast of the state.

It issued a tropical storm warning for the Florida Keys from Craig Key westward to the Dry Tortugas and the west coast of Florida from Flamingo northward to Ochlockonee River. A hurricane watch was issued from Egmont Key to the Steinhatchee River, Florida.

The storm was about 65 miles west-northwest of Key West at about 11 a.m., according to the NHS with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph.

Heavy rain is expected to continue in Cuba on Tuesday, causing flooding and mudslides, according to the NHC.

Cloudy skies hang over Havana, Cuba, after Tropical Storm Elsa passed the Caribbean island. AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa

The weather has impacted the search and rescue efforts at the collapsed Champlain Towers South near Miami.

Rescue teams work at the site of the collapsed Champlain Tower South condo in Surfside, Florida. Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Four additional bodies were recovered overnight from the rubble of the collapsed Florida condo tower as crews worked overnight through the rain and wind from the approaching storm.
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Elsa is the fifth named storm in 2021.

Hurricane Elsa churns in the Caribbean Sea. NOAA

The storm has killed at least three people so far in the Dominican Republic and St Lucia. Elsa is the earliest time on record that a fifth storm has been named during a hurricane season.

Atlantic storms are getting stronger on average as the climate crisis causes ocean and air temperatures to climb. The chances of a tropical storm becoming a major hurricane have increased by 8% every decade for the past 40 years.

The 2020 hurricane season shattered records with a total of 30 named storms. 2020 was tied for 2016 for the hottest year on record.

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