August 17, 2021 - Tropical Storm Fred

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Tropical Storm Fred made landfall near Cape San Blas, Florida on the
afternoon of August 16. According to the National Hurricane Center
(NHC), the storm came ashore at about 2:50 p.m. EDT (1950 UTC) carrying
maximum sustained winds near 65 mph (100 km/h). It was moving
north-northeast at 9 mph (15 km). The center of the storm was only 25
miles (40 km) west of Apalachicola, Florida at that time.

Cape San Blas sits on the southern tip of a peninsula that extends
westward from the Florida Mainland, then turns northward near Cape San
Blas to separate St. Joseph Bay from the Gulf of Mexico. It sits close
to Elgin Air Force Base, 10 miles (15 km) and south-southwest of Port
St. Joe. Gulf County Emergency Management said that Tropical Storm Fred
had knocked down several trees, parts of the county had measured 7
inches of rain, and Indian Pass Road was closed under five feet or
water, but that storm surge was minimal. Early reports did not give
indication of injuries near the landfall location. A later report, from
the Tallahassee Democrat, stated that dangerous storm surge inundation
was ongoing along portions of the coast of the Florida Panhandle and
the Florida Big Bend Region.

After coming ashore, Fred retained tropical storm status. At 8:00 p.m.
EDT on August 16 (0000 UTC August 17), the NHC advised that Tropical
Storm Fred continued to move inland, bringing with it heavy rain. At
that time, Tropical Storm Fred was located 15 miles (20 km) south of
Marianna, Florida and was travelling north-northeast at 10 mph. Maximum
sustained winds were estimated at 50 mph (85 km/h), with higher gusts.

Fred is expected to continue the same general motion with increasing
forward speed over the next couple of days. The NHC forecasts that Fred
will move from western Georgia on August 17 across the Southern
Appalachian Mountains to reach West Virginia by August 18. Rapid
weakening is expected, with Fred expected to become a depression by
August 17. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles
(185 km) from the center. Heavy rain can be expected across parts of
the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic along with significant flooding in some
areas. The NHC advises that an increased risk of landslides exist
across the mountains of North Carolina as well as portions of the Blue
Ridge Escarpment on August 17.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of Tropical Storm
Fred as it churned over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on August 15. A
cloud-filled, consolidated eye can be seen near the center of
circulation of the very large storm. On the western side of the center,
convection has been diminished by wind shear. Cape San Blas sits nearly
due north of the center.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/15/2021
Resolutions: 1km (3 MB), 500m (8.1 MB), 250m (6.3 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-08-17

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