By
The Associated Press
CEDAR KEY, Fla. - Tropical Storm Gordon plowed into Florida's Gulf Coast yesterday with winds just below hurricane strength, drenching rain and a storm surge with waves over six feet high.
"The storm is here," Cedar Key Mayor Heath Davis said at about 8:15 p.m. EDT. "It's making landfall. We're starting to see the effects of the surge."
Wind gusts of 60 mph were reported in this rustic fishing town about 100 miles north of Tampa as the storm approached. Gordon's top sustained winds fell from 75 mph early yesterday to about 70 mph by late afternoon, just below the 74 mph threshold for a hurricane.
A voluntary evacuation was recommended, but many of the town's 800 residents were staying put. Most had weathered hurricanes before.
"We're seeing now waves of up to and beyond six feet, and the water is continuing to rise and coming over the road at the docks area," Davis said. The storm had knocked out electricity to much of the city, and heavy rain was falling.
The weakening of the tropical storm system though the day was due to a combination of factors, said Hugh Cobb, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
"The circulation center is getting close to land, plus it's pulling in dry air from the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern U.S."
Forecasters said a storm surge of seven to 10 feet would likely coincide with high tide, a combination that could cause particularly bad flooding. Cedar Key sits two to three feet above sea level.
There was also a threat of isolated tornadoes, forecasters said. At least one tornado was reported by yesterday evening, in Palm Beach County, the National Weather Service said.
Levy County Sheriff's deputies had ordered non-residents on Cedar Key to clear out by yesterday afternoon. Two hurricane watchers from Atlanta had hoped to watch the storm's approach.
Others along the coast weren't taking any chances. The Red Cross reported about 500 people were taking advantage of its shelters around the state, dozens of flights were canceled at Tampa International Airport, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball game with the Oakland A's was called off.
"Right now, there are a lot of people who just wanted to leave," said Margaret O'Brien-Molina, a Red Cross spokeswoman. "They wanted to try, but these bands come in again and the trees start bending and the rain gets really, really stiff."
Evacuations were ordered for low-lying areas and mobile home parks in Citrus and Taylor counties north of Tampa, and five counties - Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Hernando and Pasco - were under voluntary evacuation. In low-lying Dixie County, just north of Cedar Key, emergency management director Arthur Bellot said most of his county's 13,000 residents "are as ready as they can get."
In the Levy County town of Chiefland, Iva Elbridge, 36, brought her family to a shelter at Chiefland Elementary School without complaint, especially after recalling their survival of 1992's devastating Hurricane Andrew.
"We went through Andrew when we lived in Cross City - a tree went through our house then," Elbridge said.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for the Florida Gulf Coast from Anna Maria Island to Indian Pass, and another warning was issued for the southeast coast from Titusville to Little River Inlet, S.C. A tropical storm watch extended north to the North Carolina-Virginia border.
In Sarasota and Pinellas Counties, streets that typically flood during strong summer thunderstorms were under a few feet of water. Officials reported four minor car accidents, but no injuries.
"It's very wet," said Jeff Aaron, a spokesman for Sarasota County. "It looks like we're are going to be out of the woods very soon."
The state's two largest utilities worked busily to restore power to an estimated 76,000 customers yesterday evening.
